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NIA to visit Faridabad to take over probe into recovery of explosive material
Faridabad Police have sealed the biochemistry laboratory and a toilet block at Al-Falah Medical College, where one of the accused worked
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team will visit Faridabad to take over the probe from the local police into the discovery of nearly 2,900kg of ammonium nitrate and other explosive material and firearms linked to the explosion outside Delhi’s Red Fort on Tuesday. The material and arms were recovered from the rented premises linked to two accused doctors, Muzammil Ahmad and Umar Un Nabi.
Faridabad Police have sealed the biochemistry laboratory and a toilet block at Al-Falah Medical College, where Nabi worked, after forensic teams found traces of suspected ammonium nitrate-based compounds from benches and storage racks.
The accused is suspected of having siphoned off small quantities of ammonium compounds and oxidizers from the college’s labs over weeks before combining and storing them in Faridabad’s Dhauj, and Fatehpur Taga.
“Forensic experts have lifted traces of substances from lab benches and storage racks that match preliminary indicators of ammonium nitrate-based compounds,” a police officer said. “We suspect the accused tested chemical reactions in controlled amounts before scaling up their operation outside the campus.”
The collected samples have been sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory in Madhuban for analysis.
A senior police officer, who asked not to be named, said: “We are verifying if the accused diverted any materials from the college lab inventory for assembling explosive components. The findings of the forensic report will be crucial to establishing this link.”
A Jammu and Kashmir Police team in Faridabad is coordinating with forensic experts via video calls, comparing samples from Srinagar with those recovered here to determine any chemical and operational linkage.
Police have seized over a dozen vials, glass flasks, and sealed containers from the college lab. Attendance logs of staff and students with lab access are being scrutinised.
Faridabad Police commissioner Satendra Kumar Gupta visited the medical college late Tuesday to assess the situation, even as media have been barred from entering the campus amid heightened security.
