Red Fort blast: NIA arrests 9th suspect

The accused has been identified as Yasir Ahmad Dar, a resident of Shopian district. In a statement, NIA said its investigation had revealed Dar’s “active role” in the conspiracy behind the attack

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested a resident of Jammu and Kashmir over his alleged role in the November 10 blast near Delhi’s Red Fort that killed at least 12 people. This is the ninth arrest in the case, officials said.

The accused has been identified as Yasir Ahmad Dar (File photo)

The accused has been identified as Yasir Ahmad Dar, a resident of Shopian district. In a statement, NIA said its investigation had revealed Dar’s “active role” in the conspiracy behind the attack. “An active participant in the conspiracy, he had sworn allegiance and taken an oath for carrying out self-sacrificial operations,” the agency said, adding that he was in close contact with other key accused, including the alleged suicide bomber Dr Umar un-Nabi.

The blast occurred on the evening of November 10 when a Hyundai i20 car exploded near the Red Fort. Investigators said the vehicle was being driven by Nabi, a resident of Pulwama who worked at Faridabad’s Al-Falah University.

According to officials, the explosion was carried out in panic and desperation following a sweeping multi-state crackdown on what agencies have described as a “white-collar terror module.” In the days leading up to the blast, police forces in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and other states conducted a series of raids that led to the recovery of nearly 3,000 kg of explosives and other bomb-making materials.

The chain of events, as reconstructed by investigators, began on October 19, when Jammu and Kashmir Police recovered objectionable posters linked to the proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Nowgam, Srinagar. This led to the arrest of two men – Moulvi Irfan Ahmad and Zamir Ahmad. On November 5, another suspect, Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather, was arrested from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Two days later, police recovered an AK-56 rifle and explosives from a hospital in Anantnag.

On November 10, hours before the Red Fort blast, police discovered a massive cache of explosives at the residence of Hafeez Mohammad Ishtiyaq, the imam of Al-Falah Mosque in Dhera Colony in Mewat. Officials said 2,563 kg of explosives were seized from the premises, followed by another 358 kg from adjoining locations, along with detonators and timers.

After NIA took over the probe on November 11, it arrested eight people over the next few weeks, including Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather, Moulvi Irfan Ahmad, Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganai of Pulwama, Dr Shaheen Saeed of Lucknow, Amir Rashid Ali, Jasir Bilal Wani and Soyub from Faridabad.

Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the module has links to JeM and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, with foreign handlers operating from Pakistan and some Gulf countries. Investigations are continuing.