Umar traced across Delhi for 10 hours before Red Fort car blast: NIA

Investigators pieced together Umar’s final hours in Delhi using CCTV footage, showing calculated movements and unexplained gaps before the blast.

In the 10 hours before a Hyundai i20 exploded in a deadly blast near Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday evening, the suspected bomber – Dr Umar Un-Nabi – was seen stepping out of the car at least twice without his mask, first in Connaught Place and later near Turkman Gate, said investigators familiar with the findings of the probe.

Investigators found Umar’s movements on 25 CCTV cameras, showing two unmasked stops and a mysterious 5-hour blackout before the Red Fort blast. (HT)

Both stops were confirmed through CCTV footage recovered by Delhi Police’s Special Cell, which is assisting the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in tracing Umar’s movements through the city before the explosion. According to officers, Umar entered Delhi from the Badarpur border around 8am and drove across southern, central, eastern and northern Delhi before the car blew up at 6.52pm near Red Fort.

The first sighting came from Connaught Place’s E-Block, where CCTV cameras captured Umar stepping out of the vehicle and walking around it for nearly 10 minutes. “He was wearing a black shirt, black trousers, and brown leather sandals. He appeared calm, not speaking on his phone or meeting anyone. We cannot speculate on why he stopped there,” said a senior Delhi Police officer who reviewed the footage. However, the officer refused to share the time of the incident.

HT has seen a snapshot from this footage.

The second sighting occurred about near Turkman Gate’s Faiz Ilahi Masjid, where the footage shows Umar leaving the car unmasked around 2.30pm, entering the mosque, offering prayers, and leaving after 10-15 minutes. “He was alone throughout,” said an officer, adding that this may lead credence to the theory that he was the lone occupant of the car when it exploded.

Abdul Salim, a mosque staffer, confirmed to HT that police visited the mosque Tuesday night. “They showed us footage of a white car and a man they said was the accused. We did not recognise him or recall seeing him that day. We cooperated with the police and told them everything we knew,” he said, adding that police questioned the staff about their duties and personal details.

Investigators said the car’s path through Delhi was reconstructed using more than 25 CCTV points across the city. The trail began at a toll plaza near Dhauj village in Haryana’s Mewat region just after midnight on Sunday, followed by a sighting at Faridabad’s Asian Hospital around 7.25am Monday. After entering Delhi through the Badarpur toll at 8.13am, the car was seen at a Kalkaji petrol pump at 8.20am and then heading towards the DND Flyway.

Between 9am and 2pm, there is what investigators call a “blackout period,” when the car vanishes from camera coverage. “We suspect he moved towards east Delhi, possibly to meet someone or prepare for the blast. The car was seen in that area earlier as well,” said another officer, noting that Umar appeared “well-versed with Delhi’s routes despite living in Faridabad.”

Around 2pm, the i20 was spotted near RK Ashram Marg Metro Station, then at Connaught Place Outer Circle, and later moving through Minto Road. By 2.50pm, it was recorded driving past Daryaganj market near the local police station. At 3.19pm, it entered the Red Fort parking lot near Sunehri Masjid and remained there for three hours, leaving at 6.22pm, just half an hour before Monday’s explosion.