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From ‘Dr Umar’ to i20's CCTV clips: 5 key revelations in Red Fort car blast
Probe into Red Fort car blast that killed 13 has been handed to NIA. The car that exploded is tied to a doctor, Umar who is linked to a recent explosives haul.
Investigation into the Red Fort car explosion of Monday evening, that killed 13 people, was handed over to the anti-terror agency NIA (National Investigation Agency) even though the cause of the incident remains unknown and the probe covering all possible angles.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday vowed to bring the culprits of the explosion to justice, a terror angle - which opened up after the car, believed to be an i20, was traced to a doctor named Umar Un Nabi who investigators say is linked to a recent explosives haul in Haryana's Faridabad.
As investigators remained tight-lipped over sensitive leads in the incident, source-based information across reports floated multiple details on the car in question and its likely occupant, while parallelly multiple CCTV videos of its movement on the day of the explosion as well as from before surfaced.
Delhi Red Fort car blast
Red Fort car blast death toll: The death toll in the explosion that took place on Monday evening in a car at a red light near Gate No 1 of the Red Fort or Lal Quila Metro Station rose to 13 on Tuesday. Police put the time of the blast at 6:52 pm. Initial suspicions were that the explosion was caused by the CNG tank of the car rupturing.
Car's movement in Delhi: Investigators said the i20 that exploded, with the registration number HR26CE7674 and three occupants, had been parked in a nearby parking lot around 4 pm on the day of the explosion. “It was being driven on the Chhata Rail Chowk before taking a U-turn and moving towards Lower Subhash Marg. A CCTV footage surfaced on Tuesday, showing that the car was approaching a signal and had slowed down when the explosion occurred,” an HT report earlier quoted an officer aware of the matter as saying.
Dr Umar in focus: The car that exploded has been traced to a Kashmir-based doctor - Umar Un Nabi - with ties to a terror module linked to the seizure of a huge cache of explosive material in Faridabad, HT quoted two officers from Delhi Police’s Special Cell as saying on Tuesday. The details of the explosives haul was shared by Faridabad Police on Monday, hours before the Red Fort blast occurred. The explosives were found from accommodations at two Faridabad villages rented by a Kashmiri doctor - Muzammil Shakil - whose terror module even Dr Umar worked in, those privy to the investigation said.
Dr Umar missing, DNA test to ascertain driver's identity: Police, cited in an earlier HT report, said Dr Umar is a vital link to the blast at Red Fort as the Hyundai i20 car was bought by him. While Dr Umar Un Nabi has been missing since investigation into the Faridabad terror module began, three of his relatives were picked up for questioning from Koil village in Pulwama district of south Kashmir. “A person linked to the Faridabad module is suspected to have been travelling in the i20 car though the identity of the deceased will only be confirmed after the DNA test,” the report quoted a senior police official.
Raids in J&K: Hours after the Red Fort car blast, J&K Police carried out overnight raids and picked up six people, including three family members of Dr Umar Un Nabi, who was in contact with the two other doctors from Kashmir - including Dr Muzammil Shakil - arrested after the Faridabad terror module was busted and 2,900kg of explosives were recovered. Police said those arrested in the Faridabad module case were part of a radicalised ecosystem that identified potential recruits, raised funds under the guise of professional or social initiatives and arranged logistics for terror activities.
