Red Fort blast: 2 phones that vanished just before explosion may hold all answers

Delhi blast

Investigators trying to trace the final movements of Dr Umar Un Nabi, the suicide bomber in the Red Fort blast, have identified one crucial element that could give way to the full conspiracy: two mobile phones he was last seen using.

These missing devices are now at the centre of the probe, as officers believe they may hold key clues about who guided him, funded him, and whether the attack was part of a bigger terror plan.

CCTV footage from a medical shop in Haryana shows Nabi using two phones just days before the blast. According to the investigators, these are the last known devices linked to him. Several other numbers connected to him across Delhi, Faridabad and Mewat have been flagged, but these two phones, used between October 30 and November 10, have completely disappeared.

Officials call them the “single biggest missing piece” in the investigation. If found, they could reveal the identities of people who handled Nabi’s operations.

Reconstructing Nabi’s final 36 hours

Teams from the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Delhi Police Special Cell, and Jammu & Kashmir Police have been reconstructing Nabi’s movements minute-by-minute. They have tracked his route from Faridabad to Nuh and then to Delhi using tower data, CCTV clips, chat logs and witness statements.

As per the investigators, Nabi deactivated two of his earlier phone numbers on October 30, the same day his close associate, Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie, was arrested. Officials believe Nabi might have panicked, realising that the module would have been exposed, and immediately switched to new prepaid SIM cards bought under fake names.

One CCTV clip from Dhauj market on October 30, near Al-Falah University where he worked, shows him sitting inside a medical store with a black bag and two phones. He hands one to the shopowner for charging while keeping the other in his hand. Investigators said that the simultaneous use of two phones indicates that one was used for routine communication, while the other was reserved exclusively for handlers and operational messaging.

Phones vanish hours before the blast

More than 65 CCTV videos have helped map Nabi’s movements through various towns and toll plazas. But what struck investigators was that after the evening of November 9, the two phones stop appearing in any footage. Even at Turkman Gate’s Faiz Elahi Mosque, where Nabi entered at 2.30 pm on November 10 and stayed 15 minutes, staff said he did not speak to anyone or leave anything behind.

Officers believe he may have handed over the phones to someone inside or discarded them. “The absence of data is itself a kind of evidence. Something happened inside those 15 minutes,” a senior officer was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.

Police have now prepared a list of all visitors to the mosque during that time and are examining their backgrounds to identify whether any of them acted as an accomplice.

From the mosque, Nabi drove straight to Sunehri Masjid parking near Red Fort, where his Hyundai i20 was parked in a corner not covered by CCTV cameras.

Investigators have also identified two unknown mobile devices whose locations match Nabi’s movements on November 9 and 10. These are now being treated as important leads.

Officers say evidence from Muzammil’s seized phone suggests that Nabi frequently used encrypted apps such as Signal, Briar, and Element. He also communicated using coded words like “delivery”, “testing”, and “shipment”. According to investigators, this kind of behaviour does not match that of a lone radicalised individual but indicates training in avoiding digital tracking.

“This is a sophisticated pattern. If we find the two phones, we will know everything,” an officer said.

Ground searches are now underway in Faridabad, Nuh, Ballabgarh and nearby areas. Teams have searched mosques, lodges, coaching centres, eateries and medical stores linked to Nabi’s route.

ATM trail provides a breakthrough

Another major clue came from CCTV footage at an HDFC Bank ATM in Ferozepur Jhirka, Nuh. At around 1.07 am on November 10, about 17 hours before the blast, Nabi was seen withdrawing Rs 76,000 in two instalments.

Mohar Singh, the guard on duty, told investigators Nabi claimed there was a medical emergency in his family and insisted on checking the ATM himself when told there was no cash. He then convinced Singh to accompany him to another ATM, where he withdrew around Rs 76,000 in two instalments, tipping the guard Rs 1,000 before dropping him back.

Singh described seeing items “covered in bedsheet material” in the rear seat, and recalled that Nabi was impatient, anxious, and driving erratically.

Three cartridges found near blast site

In another major development, investigators found three cartridges, two live rounds and one empty 9mm shell, near the blast site. This type of ammunition is usually used by security forces or people with special permission. No gun parts were found, and none of the victims were from security agencies.

Police are checking if Nabi carried the bullets during his journey and discarded a weapon before the attack. Officers say this discovery opens up new possibilities, including whether another person was involved.