Making another breakthrough in the deadly Delhi car blast case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested the eighth accused, who had sheltered the deceased attacker by providing him logistical support, the agency said. The accused, identified as Dr Bilal Naseer Malla, was arrested by an NIA team from Delhi.
According to the counter-terrorism agency, Malla is the eighth accused to be arrested in the “RC-21/2025/NAIA/DLI case” and has been found to be involved in the conspiracy behind the terrorist attack, in which 15 people were killed and several others were injured. The attack took place in a moving Hyundai i20 car near the Red Fort area on November 10.
“Bilal had knowingly provided shelter to the deceased accused Umar Un Nabi by providing logistical support,” the NIA said in a statement. He is also accused of destroying evidence related to the terrorist attack. In the case (RC-21/2025/NIA/DLI), the NIA has so far arrested seven accused who helped suicide bomber Umar Un Nabi, who killed a moving Hyundai, around 7 pm on November 10. Had blown himself up in an i20 car.
On November 25, the NIA had arrested the seventh accused in the case, Soyab, a resident of Dhauj, Faridabad (Haryana). He was accused of allegedly harboring Omar un Nabi shortly before the terrorist attack. Soyeb told the NIA during interrogation that he had “not only given shelter to Umar but also provided logistics support to facilitate the activities of the terrorists before the attack.”
On November 20, the agency arrested Dr. Muzammil Shakeel Ganai of Pulwama (Jammu and Kashmir), Dr. Adeel Ahmed Rather of Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir) and Mufti Irfan Ahmed Wage of Shopian (Jammu and Kashmir) along with Shaheen Saeed. The NIA detained him in Srinagar on a production order issued by the District Sessions Judge at Patiala House Court.
Earlier, the NIA had arrested two other accused – Aamir Rashid Ali, in whose name the car used in the blast was registered, and Jasir Bilal Wani alias Danish, who had provided technical support to the terrorist involved in the deadly attack.
Last month, Shaheen was flown to Faridabad to reconstruct the flawed plan, as a huge cache of explosives (about 2,900 kg) was seized in Faridabad shortly before the blast, and the Hyundai i20 car used in the blast was traced to a local dealer in the same area.
During the investigation so far in the case of the arrested accused, the NIA said that the inputs received so far have strengthened the agency’s understanding of the operational network behind the bomb blasts. The NIA said it is following various leads and conducting search operations in several states in collaboration with local police forces to identify additional suspects linked to the conspiracy.
Officials said efforts are on to completely expose and dismantle the network involved in planning and executing the deadly attack. The agency has so far interrogated all seven accused. The counter-terrorism agency, which was handed over the investigation by the Union Home Ministry soon after the attack, is working closely with various state police forces to trace and arrest each and every member of the terrorist module involved in the massacre.
The NIA conducted search operations at eight locations in Jammu and Kashmir as well as Uttar Pradesh on December 1 and claimed to have recovered various digital devices and other incriminating material during searches conducted at the premises of several accused and suspects in both the states. The NIA had earlier on November 26 and 27 conducted searches at the Al Falah University campus and other locations in Faridabad (Haryana) of the key accused, Dr. Muzammil Shakeel Ghani and Dr. Shaheen Saeed. Extensive searches were conducted at the locations. Huge quantities of cash, foreign currency, gold and other incriminating materials were seized during these searches, and these are being closely examined to uncover the bomb blast conspiracy.
So far, the NIA has learned that one of the accused, Aamir, had come to Delhi to help in procuring the car which was ultimately used as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) to carry out the blast. The NIA has revealed through forensic investigation that the deceased driver of the IED in the vehicle has been identified as Umar, a resident of Pulwama district and a general practitioner at Al Falah University, Faridabad. Was an assistant professor in the department of medicine.
Apart from this, the anti-terrorism agency has also seized another vehicle of Nabi. This vehicle is being examined for evidence in this case. The NIA has so far examined 73 witnesses in the case, including those injured in the blasts in the national capital. Working closely with Delhi Police, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Haryana Police, Uttar Pradesh Police and various partner agencies, the NIA is the co-investigator.
