The investigation into Monday evening’s car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort has revealed that the two key suspects, both doctors from Jammu and Kashmir, had travelled to Turkey in 2022. Police believe the visit was linked to Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
The main suspect, 35-year-old Dr. Umar Un-Nabi, was reportedly driving the i20 car that exploded at around 6.50 pm, killing at least 10 people and injuring 21 others. His associate, Dr. Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie, who was arrested two weeks ago, is also from Pulwama and worked with Umar at Al-Falah University in Faridabad. Both are believed to have been part of a JeM sleeper cell that had been planning attacks across North India.
A senior police officer told Hindustan Times, “We accessed all records and found that Shakeel and Umar were both at Al Falah University in Faridabad for three years. In 2022 they visited Turkey together. We checked and found it was not for some medical conference but they had gone to meet Jaish e Mohammed handlers. This was confirmed after we checked Muzammil’s phone.”
Investigators said call records show the two had visited areas around Red Fort and Chandni Chowk earlier this year. Muzammil’s interrogation also revealed that they had indeed travelled to Turkey after being in contact with a JeM handler.
Muzammil’s arrest came after radical posters appeared in parts of Kashmir. His questioning, along with the detention of another doctor from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, led police to a JeM-linked network operating out of Faridabad. During the raids, nearly 2,900 kilograms of ammonium nitrate and other explosives were recovered. Police said Umar managed to evade arrest during the Faridabad operation and was on the run when the Red Fort blast occurred.
“The doctors’ cell of the JeM module had been secretly storing explosives, arms and ammunition,” said another police officer. “They had been planning something big for years. Though the Monday blast was not well planned, they did want to conduct blasts across North India and used their college’s resources for the same.”
Officials said the explosion occurred when the car slowed at a red light near the Red Fort. The impact was devastating, scattering charred body parts over a wide area, though it did not leave a crater on the road.
The case has now been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), while police continue raids to track down more suspects linked to the terror module.
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