Red Fort bomber’s secret home lab exposed; Pakistan handlers directed bomb-making via Telegram

Damaged vehicles at the spot after a blast occurred near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames.

Dr Umar Un Nabi, the suicide bomber behind the November 10 blast near Delhi’s Red Fort, had allegedly set up a full-fledged laboratory inside his house near Al-Falah University in Faridabad, where he experimented with chemicals, tested explosives, and assembled devices based on instructions sent by his Pakistani handlers on Telegram, according to a TOI report.

The report, citing sources, said that Umar may have assembled the “loosely put together” improvised explosive device (IED) used in the Red Fort car blast at this very home lab. During the raids, authorities recovered testing equipment and traces of multiple explosive compounds.

Information about the mini-laboratory reportedly emerged during the questioning of the arrested doctors linked to the Faridabad-based Jaish module, particularly Muzammil Ganaie.

Dr Umar, Dr Muzammil, and Dr Adeel Rather are accused in the ‘white-collar' terror case. They were in direct contact with three Pakistani-based Jaish-e-Mohammed handlers: Faisal, Hashim, and Ukasha. The communication happened over encrypted Telegram chats, through which the handlers shared radicalisation content and detailed DIY bomb-making videos.

Investigators believe that Umar was the technical mind in the group, which explains why he built and operated the secret laboratory. He is said to have worked alone, assembling IEDs as per the instructions and experimenting with explosive mixtures and triggering mechanisms to maximise damage potential.

During raids conducted between November 8 and 10, agencies recovered two major batches of explosives, 358 kg and 2,563 kg, from two houses in Faridabad. The material, packed in suitcases and bags, showed no signs of metal shrapnel, suggesting the bombs had not yet been fully assembled.

The investigators are also examining potential links between the Red Fort car explosion, which agencies suspect was triggered accidentally, and the “accidental” blast that occurred at the Nowgam police station in Kashmir on Friday night. However, the J&K DGP Nalin Prabat has ruled out any terror angle and said that the blast was accidental.