The death toll from the car explosion near the Red Fort in New Delhi has tragically risen to 13, with the investigation officially handed over to the National Investigation Agency, confirming the incident is being treated as an act of terror. Initial police findings suggest the bomb detonated prematurely and unintentionally as the key suspect was in a panic following extensive police raids.
The explosion is believed to have been an accidental outcome of a panicked escape by the driver, identified as Dr. Umar U. Nabi, a self-radicalized doctor from Pulwama who owed allegiance to Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a J&K-based wing of Al Qaeda.
Sources in the security establishment indicated that Dr. Nabi fled a raid on the rented premises of his associate, Dr. Muzammil Shakeel, in Faridabad. Investigators believe the bomb, which was crude and missing shrapnel, detonated while the car was moving and had slowed down at a red light, suggesting instability rather than an intentional suicide attack at that non-strategic location.
The failed Delhi plot was part of a much larger, elaborate terror plan, post Operation Sindoor, to conduct serial bombings across northern states. The unravelling began on October 19 when Srinagar SSP G.V. Sundeep Chakravarthy initiated a probe into posters praising the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group.
This investigation soon exposed a "white-collar terror ecosystem" involving radicalized professionals, including at least six to seven doctors and two professors. Dr. Nabi, Dr. Shakeel, and two other doctors, Dr. Shaheen Saeed and Dr. Adil Ahmed Rather, have been named as key figures.
The relentless, dogged probe by the J&K Police resulted in major pre-blast arrests and seizures. During the raids in Faridabad and Saharanpur, police recovered a massive 2,900 kg cache of IED-making material, including 353 kg of ammonium nitrate, explosives, chemicals, and sophisticated weapons.
Dr. Shaheen Saeed, who was arrested in Lucknow, was allegedly associated with a Pakistan-based women’s terror wing, and an AK-Krinkov assault rifle was recovered from a car registered in her name.
Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a review meeting and posted on X: "Instructed them to hunt down each and every culprit behind this incident. Everyone involved in this act will face the full wrath of our agencies."
The total number of arrests in the terror module case now stands at eight, with at least 20 others being questioned in the Kashmir Valley. The investigation also revealed that the i20 car used in the explosion had changed hands multiple times without proper registration updates before being given to Dr. Nabi by co-accused Aamir and Tariq.
The NIA has taken charge of the case, targeting the complete network allegedly activated after threats from the JeM, following the killing of family members of its founder Masood Azhar during Operation Sindoor.