After at least 8 people were killed in a car blast near the Red Fort in Delhi, security forces from different states have arrested 7 people, who are allegedly part of an “international terror module”. Thousands of kilograms of explosives, detonators, timers and other bomb making equipment have also been seized.
Earlier, many people were arrested in Faridabad, Haryana. Later, some people were also arrested in Jammu and Kashmir a few days before the blast.
According to the police, Dr Omar, who was allegedly driving the car that exploded at the Red Fort, was also a member of this module. After the module was busted he allegedly made plans for the blast. He also has close ties to two other doctors who are part of the alleged module.
According to security forces, Dr. Omar was staying at Al-Falah Medical College when he met two other people, Dr. Muzammil Ahmed Ganai and Dr. Adeel Rather.
Ganai, also known as Musaib, is a resident of Koli, Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir and an alumnus of Al Falah Hospital. Police said they found more than 300 kilograms of explosives from Ganai’s rented house.
Meanwhile, Adeel Rather is a graduate from Government Medical College, Srinagar in 2018. He has also been a Senior Resident at Government Medical College (GMC), Anantnag from 2022-2024.
Ganai was one of the first of the seven to be arrested, but authorities soon arrested Rather as well after being interrogated by police.
The third member of the alleged module is said to be a cleric named Irfan Ahmed, who is reportedly the imam of a mosque in Shopian, Jammu and Kashmir. He is reportedly responsible for “radicalizing” others and helping them join the module.
The fourth member, Arif Nisar Dar, is a resident of Naugam in Jammu and Kashmir and is believed to be in touch with the Maulvi and Dr. Ganai.
According to police, at least three people are residents of Naugam, while one is from Ganderbal. Another member and Naugam resident Yasir Ul Ashraf runs his uncle’s shop in the same area, officials said. The seventh alleged member, Zameer Ahmed Ahangar, is also a resident of Ganderbal and is known locally as “Mutlasha”.
According to the police, “the group used encrypted channels for training, coordination, movement and logistics.”
The alleged terror module was earlier busted in Faridabad, Haryana, where police officials interrogated students, the principal and faculty members working with Dr Muzammil, in which more than 52 people were questioned.
In a major breakthrough on Monday, Jammu and Kashmir Police along with Haryana Police recovered 360 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate and 2.900 kg of IED making material, including chemicals, detonators and wires, from an apartment in Faridabad. Dr. Muzammil and Adil Rather have been arrested in this case.
Subsequently, several arrests were made in Shopian, Ganderbal in Jammu and Kashmir and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh on 20, 27 October and 5 November. According to sources, Dr. Adil was arrested from Saharanpur.
Two days later, AK-56 rifles and other ammunition were seized from a hospital in Anantnag and more guns, pistols and explosives were recovered from a location in Faridabad, he said.
On November 9, a person named Madrasi, resident of Dhauj, Faridabad, was arrested from his house. The next day, a large consignment of explosives amounting to 2,563 kg was recovered from the house of Hafiz Mohammad Ishtiaq, a resident of Mewat and Imam of Al Falah Mosque in Dhera Colony, Faridabad.
Sources said that during these operations, Omar, who was part of the module and working as a physician at Al Falah Medical College, changed his location, as he was under constant pressure from security forces.
The security agencies and intelligence network successfully “demolished the Faridabad module”, recovered a large quantity of explosive material and prevented a major conspiracy aimed at causing large-scale damage in the country.
As soon as news of the blast was received on Tuesday, Delhi Police and other security agencies reached the spot.
Home Minister Amit Shah immediately directed NSG, NIA and forensic teams to reach the spot. The injured were immediately taken to a nearby hospital and the ownership of the vehicle used in the blast was confirmed. The investigation into the blast has now been handed over to the National Investigation Agency.