New Delhi: The module suspected to have carried out the Red Fort blast Monday evening had a plan to attack sensitive locations including headquarters of some Multinational Companies (MNCs) in Haryana’s Gurugram, ThePrint has learnt.
According to sources in the security establishment, the men had been procuring and stocking explosives for over 1.5 years to carry out a “series of explosions” to make a “big impact”, interrogation of those arrested has revealed.
“The explosives including ammonium nitrate fuel oil and other chemicals were procured over 1.5 years from shops selling chemicals and fertilisers in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Saharanpur,” one of the sources said.
The sources said that the plan included carrying out a blast at multiple places, some of which they had identified, but the plan on how to execute it was still under works.
“Only 40-50 kg of ammonium nitrate was used in the Red Fort blast, while they had procured close to 2,500-3,000 kg. Just imagine the scale at which the planning was taking place. Several sensitive places, including MNCs, were on their target and they were planning a series of attacks,” the source said.
The alleged terror module, it is learnt, wanted to create an impact post Operation Sindoor.
It is suspected that the module planning the strikes include six to seven doctors and at least two ‘professors’.
By Tuesday, the police had arrested eight suspects, including doctors Adil, Muzammil and Lucknow resident Shaheen Saeed. The latter has been arrested on the charge of aiding the other module members, especially Muzammil.
The four doctors whose names have surfaced so far are Shaheen Saeed, Adil Ahmed Rather, Muzammil Shakeel, and deceased Umar Un Nabi, according to sources. Shakeel, Saeed and Nabi worked at Al-Falah hospital in Haryana’s Faridabad. Rather was posted in a hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur.
Another suspect Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan, who was with Al-Falah University and currently on the run, had earlier been dismissed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration for alleged terror links. His role, however, is unclear in the Red Fort blast.
‘Radicalised on Telegram 4 yrs ago’
According to the above-mentioned source, it was difficult to keep track of the men as none of them have a past criminal record.
“They were not on our radar,” the source said.
“These are well-educated people with medical degrees; they cleared the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET). They do not have any past record which would suggest their involvement in any anti-national activity,” the source said. “Although background checks later revealed the association of some of them to Jamaat-e-Islami.” .
A second source said that the men came together four years ago and made a group online where they shared all material.
“The men were radicalised through Telegram. Handlers from across the border shared material which they then circulated further with like-minded people encouraging them to join the module,” the source said.
The bomb is believed to have exploded accidentally while being driven around by Nabi, owing allegiance to Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, who panicked after the J&K Police raided Faridabad and recovered about 3,000 kg of explosives and bomb-making equipment from this module.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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