2 ‘agents’ of hawala network that supplied funds arrested: Police

The agents, whose identities are being withheld pending interrogation, collected money from hawala operators based in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk and delivered it to Dr Umar at regular intervals, investigators said.

Investigation into the Red Fort blast case has exposed a suspected hawala funding network that reportedly channelled funds to the tune of ₹20 lakh to Dr Umar un-Nabi, who was driving the car at the time of the blast, officials aware of the investigation said on Saturday. They said two suspected agents have been detained for transferring funds to the mastermind at the Al-Falah University.

A view of the spot where the blast happened on Monday near Red Fort. (Hindustan Times)

The agents, whose identities are being withheld pending interrogation, collected money from hawala operators based in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk and delivered it to Dr Umar at regular intervals, investigators said.

“The agents acted as conduits, collecting money from Chandni Chowk and transporting it to Al-Falah Medical College, where Dr Umar was stationed. The funds were used to buy materials and support logistics for the network’s operations,” an officer involved in the probe, requesting anonymity, said.

Preliminary findings suggest that nearly ₹20 lakh was routed through the hawala network, much of which was later spent on purchasing 26 quintals of NPK fertiliser—a nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium-based chemical compound used in agriculture but also capable of producing explosives.

Officials said the money trail is now being meticulously mapped. “The financial web that sustained the module is being dismantled. Every transaction, courier, and intermediary is under review,” an officer with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said.

The NIA officer said that call detail records (CDRs) of several suspects, including the detained hawala agents, are being analysed to establish communication patterns and coordination points.

As the financial probe deepens, over 20 fertiliser shopkeepers from Nuh and Sohna have come under the scanner for unverified sales of ammonium nitrate and NPK fertilisers. Officials also said that two local political leaders are being questioned for allegedly facilitating or shielding certain transactions connected to the network.

“This was not an isolated act but a structured financial and operational ecosystem involving radicalised professionals, traders, and couriers,” another investigator said. “The hawala chain appears to have played a central role in sustaining the terror plot.”

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which is probing the state’s terror module case, have found inconsistencies in the residential details provided by Lucknow resident Dr Shaheen Saeed.

According to sources, Dr Shaheen did not mention her father’s house in Kandhari Bazar, Lucknow, as her permanent address. “Instead, she listed her brother Dr Parvez Ansari’s residence as her official permanent address in all documents. Agencies are now examining why this discrepancy exists and whether it was intended to obscure her movements,” an ATS official said.