NEW DELHI: Since the Delhi car blast killed at least 12 people near Red Fort, security forces from different states have arrested 7 people who are allegedly part of a "terror module," while also seizing thousands of kilograms of explosives, detonators, timers and other bomb-making equipment.
Multiple arrests have been made in Faridabad, Haryana, and in Jammu and Kashmir in the days leading up to the Red Fort blast. Police have identified Dr Umar, allegedly the driver of the car used in the explosion, as a member of the module. He is believed to have accelerated the plans for the attack after the module was partially dismantled.
Security agencies said Dr Umar maintained close connections with two other doctors involved in the alleged module—Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganai and Dr Adeel Rather—whom he met while living at Al-Falah Medical College.
Ganai, also known as Musaib, hails from Koli in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, and is a former student of Al-Falah Hospital. Police recovered over 300 kilograms of explosives from his rented residence.
Adeel Rather, meanwhile, graduated from Srinagar’s Government Medical College in 2018 and served as a senior resident at Anantnag’s Government Medical College (GMC) from 2022 to 2024.
Ganai was among the first of seven arrests made. Following police questioning, Rather was apprehended shortly thereafter.
The third member of the alleged module is said to be a cleric, Irfan Ahmad, who is allegedly the Imam of Jammu and Kashmir's mosque in Shopian. He is allegedly responsible for "radicalising" others and help them join the module.
The fourth member, Arif Nisar Dar is a resident of Nowgam in J-K and is believed to be in contact with the cleric and Dr Ganai.
According to the police, at least 3 people are residents of Nowgam, while another is from Ganderbal.
Officials have said that Yasir Ul Ashraf, another member, and a resident of Nowgam runs a business in the area, managing his uncle's shop.
The seventh alleged member, Zameer Ahmad Ahanger also is a resident of Ganderbal and locally known as "Mutlasha."
According to police, the group of 7 used "encrypted channels for indoctrination, coordination, movement, and logistics."
The alleged terror module in Haryana’s Faridabad was uncovered after police questioned over 52 people, including students, the principal, and faculty members associated with Dr Muzammil.
In a major breakthrough on Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir Police, working in coordination with Haryana Police, recovered 360 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate along with 2,900 kg of IED-making materials, including chemicals, detonators, and wires, from an apartment in Faridabad. Dr Muzammil and Adeel Rather were arrested in connection with the case.
Following arrests on October 20, 27, and November 5, multiple individuals were apprehended in Shopian and Ganderbal in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where Dr Adeel was taken into custody, sources said.
Two days later, authorities recovered an AK-56 rifle and additional ammunition from Anantnag Hospital. Subsequently, more firearms, pistols, and explosives were seized from a location in Faridabad.
On November 9, a man named Madrasi, residing in Dhauj, Faridabad, was arrested from his home. The following day, authorities recovered a massive consignment of explosives weighing 2,563 kilograms from the residence of Hafeez Mohammad Ishtiaq, a Mewat native and Imam at Al Falah Mosque in Faridabad’s Dhera Colony.
During these operations, Umar, also part of the module and working as medical practitioner at Al Falah Medical College, changed his location as he was under constant pressure from the security forces, the sources said.
Security agencies and intelligence network successfully "dismantled this Faridabad module", recovered a large quantity of explosive material and prevented a major conspiracy aimed at causing large-scale damage in the country.
Immediately after news of the explosion broke on Tuesday, Delhi Police and other security agencies rushed to the site. Home Minister Amit Shah directed the NSG, NIA, and forensic teams to reach the location without delay. The injured were swiftly taken to nearby hospitals, and authorities confirmed the ownership of the vehicle used in the blast.
The blast probe has since been handed over to the National Investigation Agency.
(With agency inputs)
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