As investigators peeled the layers of the terror module that’s now been linked to the Red Fort blast, an alert was sounded in Delhi and the National Capital Region on Wednesday – to find a red Ford EcoSport, believed to be owned by the prime suspect Umar Nabi, who was in the i20 that exploded on Monday evening.
All police stations, posts, and border checkpoints were instructed to urgently look out for the vehicle, which – as first reported by The Indian Express – was eventually traced to a farmhouse in Haryana. Sources told The Indian Express that the property in Haryana’s Khandawali village belongs to Umar’s friend, who has been detained and is being questioned. As of Wednesday evening, the vehicle was being searched by forensic and ballistic experts, sources said.
The car was used mainly by Umar’s colleague, Dr Muzamil Shakeel Ganai, another member of the alleged terror module who was arrested before the Red Fort blast. Investigators believe it was his arrest that prompted Umar to flee, and eventually carry out the blast in “panic” as he felt the walls were closing in. Police had seized 358 kg of explosives, suspected to be ammonium nitrate, from Ganai’s rented home in Faridabad’s Dhauj village. A key focus of the probe, officials said, is ascertaining how and from where the accused stockpiled such a large quantity of explosives, even though some materials can be bought relatively freely.
In Srinagar, as the State Investigation Agency took over the probe of the terror module from the Nowgam police and the investigation entered the third day, the relationship between the two men – both from the same village of Koil in Pulwama and both employed at Faridabad’s Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences & Research Centre – became the central focus of the probe. Two other doctors arrested in connection with the module have been identified as Dr Adeel Majeed Rather (33) from Qazigund, who was working at a private hospital in Saharanpur, and Dr Shaheen Shahid Ansari (46), who was also employed at the Faridabad hospital and was known to Dr Ganai.
Police sources say Dr Umar and Dr Ganai were “key members” of the module and had been gradually stockpiling explosives and detonative materials for months now.
Watch | CCTV footage shows moment cars go up in flames at traffic signal near Red Fort
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“What we know so far is that Dr Umar was the one who would talk more about carrying out spectacular attacks,” said a highly placed source. Though their families insist the two don’t know each other, investigators believe they have been in touch since 2018.
“The 350 kg of ammonium nitrate we recovered from Dr Ganai’s (rented) residence in Faridabad was stored in suitcases. More explosive material was recovered from the residence of a cleric picked up from Faridabad,” said a source. The preacher, Imam Ishtiyaq, belongs to Mewat and would conduct sermons on the Al Falah campus, sources said. He has been taken to Srinagar by the J&K police. According to officials, he had a house in Fatehpur Taga village, where he rented out one of the rooms to Dr Ganai.
Police sources said that while the doctors had been planning “something bigger”, they were yet to zero in on a definitive target. “Maybe a series of blasts,” said a source, indicating one of the options the module was allegedly exploring.
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Police have also retrieved photos of the two doctors from near Red Fort from 10 months ago, but say it is unclear if they were there to conduct a recce.
In the Valley, the J&K police continued to make detentions in connection with the case, including at least three doctors who knew members of the module. “It is a continuous process. Over the last two days, we have picked up many people who were connected to these doctors. But this is a routine process. They are being questioned and released. We have not formally arrested anyone,” said a source.
