India's National Investigation Agency to probe Delhi car blast

NEW DELHI, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- India's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday handed over the probe into the Delhi car blast to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The NIA is India's principal counter-terrorism law enforcement agency. It functions under the MHA, and directly reports to the country's home minister and his secretariat.

The car blast took place near Delhi's historic monument Red Fort on Monday evening, killing at least eight people and injuring nearly two dozen others, some of them critically.

Though the official death toll stood at eight, media reports suggested that it had risen to 13.

The car owner's identity had been established, and further investigation was on as a few were detained for interrogation.■