Red Fort car blast: Delhi Police probe points to Pulwama link, Faridabad terror module behind fidayeen-style attack

Investigators say the Hyundai i20 that exploded near Red Fort was loaded with explosives and may have been driven by a known Faridabad module operative, Dr Umar Mohammad.

A car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort Metro Station has been confirmed as a terror attack, investigators said, after explosives were found packed inside a Hyundai i20 that killed at least eight people.

According to top intelligence sources cited by India Today, the Hyundai i20 that blew up near Gate No. 1 of Red Fort Metro Station on Monday evening was packed with explosives and deliberately detonated, killing at least eight people and injuring several others.

The car went up in flames around 6:52 pm, sending a fireball into the sky and plunging the area into chaos. Eyewitnesses described a deafening blast that shattered glass windows and briefly knocked out nearby street lights.

Investigators trace Pulwama connection

Top officials told India Today that the explosion bears the signature of a fidayeen-style strike, a suicide attack commonly associated with militant groups operating out of Jammu and Kashmir.

The car, investigators said, was allegedly purchased by Tariq, a resident of Pulwama, who has now been taken into custody for questioning. Early leads suggest Tariq may have acted as a conduit between handlers in Kashmir and a Faridabad-based terror module suspected to have planned the bombing.

Faridabad terror module under scanner

Multiple intelligence inputs point toward a Faridabad module that had been under watch for months for alleged involvement in arms smuggling and terror financing across northern India.

According to India Today, the cell is believed to have supplied both the car and explosive material used in the attack.

Investigators are now focusing on Dr Umar Mohammad, a known member of the Faridabad module and a key suspect in the explosion.

Sources told India Today that Dr Umar is believed to have been inside the i20 when it exploded, possibly attempting a suicide mission after fearing exposure of his network.

DNA test to confirm bomber’s identity

A DNA test will be conducted on the charred body recovered from the car to confirm whether it was Dr Umar. According to officials, he had been on the run for months and was believed to have gone underground following the arrest of his associate Dr Muzzamil Shakeel, from whom police recovered 2,900 kg of explosive material last week.

Sources told India Today that Shakeel’s arrest may have triggered panic within the network. Investigators suspect Dr Umar rushed to carry out the Red Fort bombing as a last-ditch attempt to avoid being captured, a move consistent with fidayeen-style operations.

The car’s trail reveals a tangled web

The Hyundai i20’s ownership trail is now a key focus of the investigation.

The car was first registered to Mohammad Salman, who sold it to Nadeem, who then handed it to Royal Car Zone, a used-car dealership in Faridabad. The vehicle was subsequently sold to Tariq, before ending up with Dr Umar Mohammad.

Investigators believe this series of transactions was engineered to obscure the car’s final owner, making the bombing appear random. But once Shakeel’s network was busted, the connection between Tariq and the Faridabad module began to unravel.

NSG and forensic teams on site

Teams from the National Security Guard (NSG) and forensic experts have cordoned off the area around Red Fort Metro Station.

Samples from the site are being tested to determine whether nitrates, TNT, or ammonium nitrate compounds were used, substances commonly found in improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Part of a bigger plot?

The blast comes barely hours after Delhi Police and central agencies dismantled a major interstate terror module, seizing over 2,900 kg of ammonium nitrate, material powerful enough to make hundreds of IEDs.

Officials now believe the Red Fort attack may have been a revenge or diversionary strike carried out by the same network, intended to signal that the module remains active despite the recent crackdown.

What happens next

The investigation has now been expanded to Pulwama, Faridabad, and Delhi, with the NIA expected to join the probe.

Security across the Capital has been heightened, with additional deployments around key landmarks and transport hubs.

If confirmed, this would mark one of the most audacious terror attempts in the Capital in recent years, carried out in the heart of Old Delhi, underlining both the reach and resilience of sleeper cells still operating within India’s security radar.

As one senior officer told India Today: “Every lead, the car, the explosives, the people, is pointing back to the same network. We may just be seeing the first layer of a much larger plot.”