A month before Delhi blast, accused doctor Adeel Rather was in 'urgent need of money'

Investigators suspect the money he sought was used to fund the blast.

As the probe on Delhi blast intensifies, another key piece of information has come to light --one of the key accused's dire need for money, leading investigators to consider if financial requirements could have played a vital part in carrying out the blast.

A report by two publications (NDTV & India Today) suggest a trail of WhatsApp chats has revealed how desperation for money led the accused to commit the gruesome crime.

According to the publications, chats involve Adeel Rather, who is currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the blast near the iconic Red Fort. The messages show Rather saying that he was in "dire need of money."

Two months before the deadly car bombing near Delhi’s Red Fort, Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather, one of the key accused in the case, urgently pleaded for an advance on his salary, according to WhatsApp chats accessed by the publications. Investigators now suspect the money he sought then was used to fund the terror attack.

Adeel, a former senior resident at the Government Medical College in Anantnag, had moved to a hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur in March 2025. He earned a respectable salary, but the messages -- all deleted from his phone before his arrest on November 6 -- show him repeatedly begging for money.

The NIA has identified four key accused in the Delhi blast case: Dr. Muzammil Shakeel Ganai of Pulwama, Dr. Adeel Ahmed Rather of Anantnag, Dr. Shaheen Saeed of Lucknow, and Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay of Shopian. All are believed to be part of what investigators call a “white-collar terror network.”

Fourteen people were killed and dozens injured when a Hyundai i20 loaded with IEDs exploded on a busy road near the Red Fort. The blast came just hours after a huge stash of explosives was seized from Faridabad-based Al-Falah University, leading police to uncover a sophisticated, multi-state plot.