From Delhi car bomb to 2,600 kg ammonium nitrate haul: How NIA uncovered a foiled serial bombing plot

Delhi blast

The investigation into the deadly Red Fort car blast has uncovered a sophisticated ‘white-collar’ terror module, with a resurfaced video showing a massive 2,600 kg stash of ammonium nitrate in a cleric’s rented room in Faridabad and evidence pointing to a foiled plot for serial bombings, according to a TOI report.

The footage, filmed on November 9, a day before the Delhi explosion that killed 15 people, shows sacks of the chemical stacked inside a sparsely furnished house in an isolated location, for which the tenant paid just Rs 1,500 per month.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has formally taken over the case, is now probing whether arrested doctors Shaheen Shahid and Muzammil Shakeel were involved in procuring multiple vehicles for a broader serial bombing campaign. Initial findings suggest the duo may have arranged or financed several cars intended to be used as vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices.

According to the TOI report, this larger plot was allegedly an “anniversary revenge attack” timed for the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6.

In a key development, the NIA on Thursday took custody of three doctors and a preacher previously arrested by Jammu and Kashmir police. The individuals — Muzammil Ganaie, Adeel Rather, Shaheena Saeed and Maulvi Irfan Ahmed Wagay — are now in the federal agency’s custody. An NIA spokesperson stated they had “all played a key role in the terror attack that killed several innocent persons and left many others injured.”

This brings the total number of people booked by the NIA to six. The agency had already arrested Amir Rashid Ali, a resident of Pampore in Jammu and Kashmir, who allegedly conspired with the suicide bomber, Dr Umar Un Nabi and travelled to Delhi to facilitate the purchase of the i20 car used in the blast.

Another individual, Jasir Bilal Wani, was arrested after it emerged that Dr Umar had tried to recruit him as a suicide bomber; Wani allegedly agreed to work as an overground worker for the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) instead.

The NIA has also seized a second vehicle linked to bomber Dr Umar, which is currently undergoing forensic examination for explosive residue, fingerprints and digital evidence.

The intricate web began to unravel not in Delhi, but in Srinagar. On the intervening night of October 18-19, posters of the banned JeM appeared on walls on the city's outskirts, threatening attacks on police and security forces. Treating it as a serious lead, Srinagar police, under Senior Superintendent of Police G V Sundeep Chakravarthy, formed special teams and made three arrests based on CCTV footage.

Their interrogation led investigators to former paramedic turned preacher Maulvi Irfan Ahmed from Shopian, who was accused of supplying the posters. His arrest provided the critical thread that ultimately led authorities to Al-Falah University in Faridabad and the group of Kashmiri doctors at the heart of the alleged ‘white-collar’ terror module.

The subsequent investigation led to the recovery of a total of 2,900 kilograms of explosives, including the ammonium nitrate shown in the resurfaced video.

The plot now appears far more extensive than a single attack, with investigators piecing together a planned campaign of violence that stretched from Kashmir to the national capital region, financed and facilitated by individuals operating from within trusted professions.