NIA Arrests Key Conspirator in Red Fort Car Bombing

NEW DELHI: As the investigation into the Red Fort blast expands, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a Kashmiri man accused of helping plan the suicide attack. The arrest comes amid a widening multi-state probe spanning Kashmir, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, which has uncovered prohibited ammunition at the blast site, suspected hawala funding, possible use of TATP, and emerging leads hinting at a honey-trap network.

NIA sources said on Saturday that the accused, Amir Rashid Ali, a resident of Samboora in Pampore, was detained in Delhi after investigators found that he helped arrange the purchase of the car later used in the explosion. Forensic analysis has confirmed that the driver of the vehicle, Dr Umar un Nabi, an assistant professor at Al-Falah University and a resident of Pulwama, died in the blast. A second vehicle owned by Nabi has also been seized as investigators piece together the wider network.

Amir had travelled to Delhi to facilitate the purchase of the car, which was eventually converted into a vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

So far, agencies have examined 73 witnesses, including those injured in the November 10 blast that rocked the national capital. Multiple leads are being pursued to uncover the larger conspiracy and identify additional suspects, NIA officials said.

Separately, sources confirmed that Dr Janisar Alam, a resident of Dalkhola in Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal, has been detained. A taxi operator from Haryana has also been taken into custody in connection with the case.

In another significant development, investigators recovered three prohibited 9mm cartridges from the blast site. Police on Sunday confirmed finding two live 9mm bullets and one empty shell near the burnt car, ammunition not permitted for civilian use. Security personnel deployed at the spot accounted for all issued rounds, raising questions over how the cartridges reached the site. Investigators are probing whether another armed individual was present or whether the ammunition points to an additional layer in the conspiracy.

Forensic teams are analysing traces suggesting the possible presence of Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP), the volatile explosive known as the “mother of Satan,” often mixed with ammonium nitrate to increase impact. TATP is extremely unstable and sensitive to heat, shock, friction, and electrostatic discharge. Officials said they are examining all components used in the blast, which appears to have been strengthened with ammonium nitrate.

Agencies are also reconstructing Nabi’s movements from Faridabad to Nuh and then Delhi, reviewing tower dumps, call records and footage from more than 50 CCTV cameras.

The trail includes a rented house in Nuh’s Hidayat Colony, vacated just hours before the attack, and a brief tea stop in Delhi before Nabi drove toward the Red Fort. The house belongs to a relative of a university electrician who is already in custody.

A parallel investigation in Kashmir began after 14 mobile phones were recovered from the residence of arrested doctor Adeel Ahmad Rather. The devices contained explicit chats, encrypted calls and late-night video interactions with multiple Kashmiri women via apps like Session. Officials suspect an organised honey-trap operation aimed at extracting personal details, influencing medical professionals and gaining access to hospital systems for unidentified “patients” sent by handlers.

Meanwhile, police are compiling a detailed log of all vehicles in the Sunehri Masjid parking area, where the explosive-laden car was parked for nearly three hours. Drivers and owners are being questioned on whether Nabi met anyone or allowed someone to approach the vehicle.

The Delhi Police’s Central district has stepped up anti-terror measures, intensifying verification drives, picket checks and armed deployment at sensitive locations. “On Saturday night, teams seized 34 unattended vehicles during a special operation, and 417 challans were issued under the Delhi Police Act during a five-hour checking drive,” an officer said.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range) Madhur Verma, along with district DCPs, ACPs, SHOs and specialised units, has been holding frequent coordination meetings with shopkeepers and vendors.

As part of the high-alert response, strict picket checking was conducted between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. across the district. Police checked 683 vehicles at multiple barricades and verified 24 strangers during the operation.