The November 10, 2025, explosion killed civilians and injured several others, leaving families struggling with bereavement, medical complications, lost livelihoods and financial uncertainty.
Twelve months on, many are still trying to rebuild their lives, while questions surrounding compensation and the progress of the investigation remain part of their ordeal.
For some families, the loss has meant leaving Delhi and returning to their hometowns. Others are trying to secure their children's future without the person who once supported the household.
Families continue to live with the loss
Amar Kataria, 38, who ran a pharmaceutical shop at Bhagirath Palace, was returning home to Sriniwaspuri when the explosion killed him.
His wife, Kriti, has largely withdrawn from public life, according to her father, Sudesh Sethi.
“It has been a year, and she refuses to step out of her house. It feels as though the incident happened only yesterday,” Sethi said.
Kriti is now raising their young son, who was three years old when his father died.
Sethi said she had been concentrating on bringing up the child while struggling to cope with the loss.
The family of Ashok Kumar, a Delhi Transport Corporation conductor and sole breadwinner, has also undergone a major change.
His wife, Sonam Devi, moved from Delhi to her parents' home in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, in April, saying she could not manage the household alone.
“I could not manage alone in the city,” she said, adding that she had kept the remaining compensation money aside for her children's future.
The family of Dinesh Mishra has similarly put the compensation towards the future of his two minor daughters.
His brother, Guddu, brought Dinesh's 13-year-old son to Delhi and enrolled him in a boarding school.
Survivors face long-term health, financial problems
For those who survived the explosion, the consequences have extended beyond their initial injuries.
Bhawani Shankar Sharma, 34, who was driving a taxi when the blast occurred, continues to experience intermittent memory problems after suffering a head injury.
His brother, Vishnu Sharma, said the explosion destroyed the vehicle that provided the family's livelihood.
“My brother had an extremely happy life before the blast. He lost his car, his only source of livelihood, and has faced financial difficulties in addition to his injuries,” Vishnu said.
Another survivor, Ankur, who had travelled from Shahdara to offer prayers at Gauri Shankar Temple, sustained serious injuries. His father said he can now neither see nor hear.
The family of Mohsin Malik, who was the sole earning member of his household and left behind a wife and two children, continues to struggle with his death.
His brother, Wasim, said the family had received little support beyond the assistance announced by the government after the explosion.
Compensation dispute adds to families' difficulties
The Delhi government had announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹10 lakh for each family of a person killed in the blast, ₹5 lakh for those left permanently disabled, ₹2 lakh for the seriously injured and ₹20,000 for those with minor injuries.
However, some families and campaigners have questioned whether the assistance adequately reflects the long-term medical costs, loss of income and other consequences faced by survivors.
Sethi said his family had sought employment assistance for Kriti, who holds an MBA, rather than financial compensation alone.
“We do not need money. My son-in-law earned ₹5 lakh a month. What we needed from the government was intervention that would genuinely help us. We sought a job for Kriti, who has an MBA, but the Chief Minister did not pay heed to our requests,” he said.
Ashok Randhawa, president of the South Asian Forum for People Against Terror, has also called for a review of compensation provided to injured victims.
He alleged that some people classified as having minor injuries had suffered lasting consequences, including hearing loss.
NIA probe and questions over justice
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case a day after the November 10 explosion.
Investigators identified Umar-un-Nabi, a doctor originally from Jammu and Kashmir, as the alleged driver of the explosives-laden vehicle.
The agency arrested 11 people by December 2025 for allegedly conspiring in or supporting the attack.
Some of those arrested were reportedly linked to Al-Falah University in Faridabad.
The NIA has since filed three charge sheets against 13 people, alleging that the attack was part of a conspiracy codenamed “Operation Heavenly Hind”, which investigators said had been under preparation since 2022.
Despite these developments, relatives of the victims continue to seek closure.
Guddu, whose brother Dinesh was killed, expressed frustration over the pace of the legal proceedings.
The first anniversary has also brought back memories for traders in the Old Lajpat Rai Market, near the blast site.
A local shopkeeper recalled shattered Metro station glass, smoke and panic immediately after the explosion.
“When I remember that day, I feel a bit shaken. The moment the blast occurred, glass panes of the Metro station shattered, and there was smoke all over,” he said.
On November 10, the anniversary brought heightened security around the Red Fort, but for the families who lost loved ones, the passage of time has offered little relief.
Their lives remain divided between what existed before the explosion and everything that followed it.
Behind the investigation, charge sheets and compensation figures are families still mourning, survivors coping with lasting injuries and children growing up without parents.
A year after the blast, the echoes of that November evening have not faded from the lives it changed.