Hours before the explosion in a car near the Red Fort in Delhi killed nine people on Monday evening, the J&K Police said they had busted an “inter-state and transnational” terror module linked with terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), and that they had arrested seven people.
Among the arrested was Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganai from Pulwama, who was picked up from Faridabad, where he worked at Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences & Research Centre. Another doctor, Adeel Majeed Rather from Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, was arrested in Saharanpur.
According to police sources, the seven people arrested as part of the terror module bust had “no previous terror-related cases against them”. They are all believed to be between 22 and 30 years of age, sources said.
Here’s what is known about the seven:
1. Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganai
Ganai was the first to be arrested in this case. From Koil in Pulwama, Ganai taught at the Al Falah Hospital in Faridabad. Police said they seized 358 kg of explosives from his rented home in Faridabad’s Dhauj village. Both Ganai and the primary blast suspect, Dr Umar Nabi, are residents of the same village. He also uses the alias Musaib.
2. Dr Adeel Rather
He graduated from Government Medical College, Srinagar, in 2018 after completing his MBBS and then received his MD in General Medicine in 2022. He was arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur following Ganai’s arrest and questioning. Rather worked as a senior resident at GMC Anantnag from October 2022 to October 2024.
3. Molvi Irfan Ahmad
A cleric, Ahmad is the imam of a masjid in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian. According to police sources, he is believed to be the one who radicalised others in the “module”.
4. Arif Nisar Dar
A resident of Nowgam in Srinagar, Dar is believed to have been in contact with Irfan Ahmad and Muzamil Ganai.
5. Yasir-ul-Ashraf
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A resident of the same locality as Dar, Ashraf runs a business. He also goes by the name Sahil. Sources said that he works at his uncle’s shop in Nowgam.
6. Maqsood Ahmad Dar
He also comes from Nowgam and works as an accountant at a local iron and steel shop, police said. He also goes byShahid.
7. Zameer Ahmad Ahanger
A resident of Wakura in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal, Ahanger is unemployed, police said. He is locally also known as Mutlasha.
Police alleged that the group used encrypted channels for “indoctrination, coordination, fund movement and logistics”. Police also said that funds were raised through professional and academic networks, under the guise of social/charitable causes.
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“The accused were found involved in identifying persons to radicalise, initiate and recruit to terrorist ranks, besides raising funds, arranging logistics, procurement of arms/ammunition and material for preparing IEDs,” the J&K police said.
Police also said they recovered 2,900 kg of IED-making material from different locations, including explosives, chemicals, reagents, inflammable material, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote control, timers, and metal sheets, during coordinated raids on the module.
