NIA Raids 12 Kashmir Valley Locations in Delhi Red Fort Blast Case

SRINAGAR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday conducted extensive searches at nearly a dozen locations across south Kashmir’s Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts in connection with its probe into the November 10 car bomb blast near Delhi’s Red Fort that claimed 15 lives and injured several others.

The raids primarily targeted suspects linked to a sophisticated “white-collar” terror module allegedly responsible for radicalisation, recruitment, funding and execution of the high-intensity explosion in the heart of the national capital.

The NIA sources said that the residence of Moulvi Irfan Ahmad Wagay who served as an imam in a mosque in capital Srinagar was raided and thoroughly searched in Nadigam village of Shopian. Wagay, considered the mastermind behind the radicalisation and recruitment network of the module, was initially arrested by Jammu and Kashmir Police in October 18 and later taken into NIA custody in November after the agency took over the Red Fort blast investigation.

The premises linked to Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather in Pulwama, who was arrested from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in the first week of November were also searched by the NIA sleuths assisted by the local police. They also raided and subsequently searched the houses and associated locations of Dr Muzamil Shakeel Ganai -also known as Muzamil Mushtaq -and Amir Rashid, besides several over-ground workers (OGWs), the sources said.

Multiple sites in Koil, Chandgam, Malangpora and Samboora areas of Pulwama that were previously identified as hideouts or meeting points for individuals connected to the case were also searched, the sources said.

Local police sources said the simultaneous raids, which began early Monday morning and continued till late evening, were aimed at recovering digital devices, documents, financial records and any incriminating material that could establish the funding trails, communication networks and logistical support extended to the perpetrators of the Delhi blast.

So far, the NIA has arrested nine persons in the case RC-21/2025/NIA/DLI, including professionals and educated youth allegedly radicalised online and through personal contact by Wagay and his associates.

Amir Rashid Ali was arrested on November 16 from Samboora, Pampore in Pulwama for providing vehicle registration and logistical support. Jasir Bilal Wani, alias Danish, a resident of Qazigund in Anantnag, was picked up from Srinagar on November 17 for offering technical support including drone modification and rocket attempts. On November 20, five accused were taken into NIA custody after initial arrest by J&K Police—Dr. Muzammil Shakeel Ganai, a doctor at Al Falah University in Faridabad who was involved in planning and facilitation, Dr. Adeel Ahmed Rather from Pulwama for similar planning roles, Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay for preaching and ideological support, and Dr. Shaheen Saeed, alias Shaheen Shahid or “Madam Surgeon”, a pharmacologist at the same university who was tasked with recruiting women.

Soyab was arrested on November 25 from Dhauj in Faridabad, Haryana, for harbouring the bomber and providing logistical help and, finally, on November 28, Mohammad Asif, the imam of Bilali mosque in Banbhulpura, Haldwani, Uttarakhand, was arrested for ideological and logistical links, along with his associate Nazar Kamal, an electrician who allegedly provided technical and logistical support.

Investigators have described the group as a “white-collar terror module” because several accused hold respectable positions — doctors, engineers and teachers — and were using their professional cover to further the terror agenda.

The powerful improvised explosive device (IED), planted inside a parked car near Gate No. 3 of the Red Fort, detonated on the evening of November 10, causing large-scale damage and panic in one of Delhi’s most crowded and historically significant areas.

The NIA registered the case soon after the blast and has been aggressively pursuing leads across several states. Monday’s raids mark a major escalation in the investigation as the agency attempts to dismantle the entire support ecosystem of the module operating from Kashmir.