The ongoing investigation into the November 10 Red Fort blast reportedly suspects that Umar Nabi, a doctor teaching at the Al Falah Hospital in Faridabad was driving the bomb-laden Hyundai i20 car that exploded. The blast that occurred around 7 pm on November 10 claimed 13 lives.
The car, with a Haryana registration number (HR 26 CE 7674), had been sold multiple times and its last owner was the suspect, Umar Nabi. No bodily remains could be retrieved from the car due to the impact of the explosion.
According to The Indian Express, Umar Nabi’s mother was taken away by the Jammu and Kashmir police for DNA sample collection. The DNA sample will be matched with the remains found in the burnt car, reports said.
‘Under pressure after raids’
According to The Hindu, preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect carried out the attack under pressure after police raids across three states in the week prior to the attack led to the arrest of his colleagues.
Following raids in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, doctors Muzamil Ahmad Ganaie (32), alias Musaib from Pulwama, and Shaheen (40), a resident of Lucknow, were arrested on October 30 and November 8 respectively. A third doctor, Adeel Majeed Rather, a resident of Wanpora in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam, was arrested from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur on November 5.
The arrests were made public by the Uttar Pradesh police on November 10. They announced the seizure of 350 kg of explosives and weapons from the rented home of Dr Muzamil Ahmad Ganaie. The Jammu and Kashmir police later issued a statement saying that seven people have been arrested so far in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. About 2,900 kg of explosives, weapons, timers, batteries, and metal sheets were recovered, they stated.
It was also reported that the Red Fort blast occurred sooner than planned and did not cause as much damage as it could have. “The bomb was premature and not fully developed, thus limiting the impact,” a source reportedly told The Hindu.
UAPA charged
A first information report has been registered at the Kotwali police station under Sections 16 (punishment for terrorist acts) and 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and other sections of the Explosives Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Sources reportedly told The Hindu that CCTV visuals showed the car entering Delhi from Faridabad through the Badarpur toll plaza at 7.04 am on Monday, November 10. After Muzamil Ahmad Ganaie’s room was raided, the suspect spent the entire day driving around Delhi and entered the parking lot near Red Fort around 3.15 pm. He stayed in the vehicle for three hours and left the parking spot at 6.48 pm. The blast happened at 6.52 pm.
The case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on November 11.