New Delhi: Doctor Umar Nabi “convinced the others” part of the alleged terror module suspected to be behind the Delhi blast, ThePrint has learnt. Nabi is believed to have been in the moving car at the time of the explosion near Red Fort metro station Monday evening.
On Wednesday, the Centre formally declared the incident an act of terror, “perpetrated by anti-national forces”.
“Muzammil and Shaheen are in a relationship, that’s how she got involved. Nabi was the most radicalised of the lot, he convinced the others especially the doctors involved,” said a source in the security establishment, referring to the three other doctors now in custody in connection with the Delhi blast—Adeel Rather, Muzammil Shakeel and Shaheen Shahid.
ThePrint has also learnt that of the 2,900 kg of explosives recovered during a raid on Shakeel’s rented accommodation in Faridabad on the day of the blast, more than 2,000 kg was ammonium nitrate. The alleged terror module, it is learnt, wanted to create an impact post Operation Sindoor, but didn’t have a concrete execution plan. “They had discussed that they would be doing something actively and big,” said another source, adding that the module active in Delhi, Faridabad and Uttar Pradesh was actually a Kashmir module.
Umar, a native of Pulwama, was “close” to Maulvi Irfan Ahmad Wagay, the Shopian cleric held by J&K police following the arrests of three over-ground workers who allegedly put up posters on the outskirts of Srinagar in solidarity with the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, and issued warnings to anyone sheltering “Indian predators”.
“The cleric and Nabi were close. They had plans to carry out a series of attacks across Delhi-NCR. A handler asked them to keep stockpiling. The plan was expedited in the last six months,” said the first source.
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The day of the blast
At around 2.30 pm on the day of the blast, Nabi offered namaz at Faiz Ilahi Masjid near Turkman Gate. He then drove the white i20 to the Sunehri Masjid parking lot, where he did not step out of the parked car for about three hours.
The car was seen leaving the parking lot at 6.48 pm. He then drove the vehicle carrying ammonium nitrate fuel oil to the traffic signal near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort metro station, where there was an explosion in the moving car a few minutes before 7 pm.
Nabi, it is learnt, had left from Faridabad around 7 am that morning, hours before a joint team of the J&K and Haryana police raided Shakeel’s rented accommodation. A total of 2,900 kg of explosives were recovered during this raid. “It is actually over 2,000 kg of ammonium nitrate. They had sourced it over months,” a third source said.
On Wednesday evening, a second car registered in Nabi’s name, a red EcoSport, was found at a farmhouse in Haryana. It is suspected that Nabi used this car to transport drums full of ammonium nitrate fuel oil. “This (ammonium nitrate fuel oil) is readily available, anyone can buy it. They bought it from fertilizer shops in UP and Haryana,” said a fourth source.
Investigators are still trying to piece together Nabi’s movement on days following the arrests of other members of the alleged terror module—Shakeel was arrested on 31 October, and Rather on 6 November. Shahid was arrested after the blast. Police also recovered firearms from a Swift Dzire registered in her name.
“The car (i20) was parked at the Al Falah parking lot since 29 October. We are trying to find out where Umar Nabi has been since the first arrests,” the first source said. Adding, “We suspect Nabi was hiding in Faridabad itself. He may have been staying in another hostel.”
Nabi, Shakeel and Shahid were employed at the Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, now under the scanner of investigating agencies, while Rather was working at a private hospital in Saharanpur at the time of his arrest.c
Rather was senior to Nabi at GMC Srinagar and the two later worked together at GMC Anantnag. It was at GMC Anantnag that police found arms in Rather’s locker.
Nabi and Shakeel, on the other hand, were long-time friends.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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