3 briefly held in Nainital over Red Fort blast; no links found

Three people, including a local cleric, were questioned in Nainital regarding the Red Fort blast, but no connection to the case was found.

Central security agencies have questioned three people, including a cleric of a local mosque, in Nainital relation with the Red Fort blast in Delhi, people aware of the matter said. However, the police did not find anything to connect them to the case.

3 briefly held in Nainital over Red Fort blast; no links found

The three people, who were detained on Saturday, were later released in the evening after interrogation.

Senior superintendent of police (Nainital), Manjunath TC, said, “The Police, STF (Special Task Force), and a central agency questioned two individuals from the Banbhulpura area in Haldwani, and necessary information was collected on various aspects related to national security. Similarly, one person was questioned in the Tallital area of Nainital. After jointly conducting detailed questioning on multiple points and aspects concerning these individuals, they were released.” The cleric was from the Banbhulpura area,

A senior Uttarakhand Police official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, “Two people, including a maulana, were detained around 1 am on Saturday for questioning and were later allowed to leave in the evening. Similarly, one person was questioned in the Tallital area and was also released after interrogation. They were questioned on the basis of call records, and their devices were examined, but the security agency did not find anything suggesting their involvement in the Delhi case.”

The development comes days after Uttarakhand Police began an investigating possible connections the arrested accused had in the state, another senior police official said.

So far, seven people have been arrested in connection with the blast.

A third senior police official on the condition of anonymity said, “We are looking into the possible connections, links, and movement of the accused that have come to light in the Delhi blast. If anything concrete is found, we will share it with the probe agency NIA (National Investigation Agency). We have obtained the accused’s mobile phone and are checking if they were in touch with anyone from the state.”

“However, no linkage to the state with regard to the Delhi blast has come to light so far,” he said.

Additional director general of police (intelligence) Abhinav Kumar said, “If any assistance is sought from the Uttarakhand Police regarding the investigation of the Delhi blast, we will provide it.”

“We have also issued an alert in the state till December 6,” he said.

The November 10 explosion, carried out using an improvised explosive device fitted into a stolen vehicle, was among the deadliest attacks in the capital in recent years. At least 12 people were killed.

Ahead of the incident, agencies had busted a “white collar terror module” with links to terrorist outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, spread across Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. They had seized 2,900 kg of explosive substances and arrested eight people, including three doctors linked to Faridabad’s Al-Falah University.