NIA arrests 4 suspects in Red Fort blast case as probe widens; gets 10-day custody
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) officer said that the arrests are among the most significant since the case was handed over to the agency
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested four more people from Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh for their alleged role in the November 10 blast near Delhi’s Red Fort, taking the number of those held in the case to six.
All four were subsequently sent to 10 days in NIA custody by Principal Judge, Anju Bajaj Chandra after being produced at the Patiala House Court on Thursday afternoon.
The NIA said said Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganai (Pulwama), Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather (Anantnag), Dr Shaheen Saeed (Lucknow), and Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay (Shopian) were taken into custody on production warrants of a Patiala House Court (Delhi) judge. The four are suspected to have played direct roles in the planning and execution of the blast.
An NIA officer said that the arrests are among the most significant since the case was handed over to the agency. “We had earlier apprehended Amir Rashid Ali, the registered owner of the car used in the explosion, along with Jasir Bilal Wani alias Danish, who allegedly provided technical support and logistical assistance to the bomber,” said the officer, asking not to be named.
The widening probe has uncovered what officials describe as a “white-collar doctor terror module”, comprising highly educated people. “...suspects, including Dr Ganai and Dr Saeed, reportedly lived in a rented flat in Faridabad that doubled as a workshop for assembling improvised explosive devices. Security agencies earlier recovered large quantities of explosive-making chemicals and assorted weapons from locations linked to the group,” said the officer.
NIA officers said that the fresh arrests mark substantial progress in tracing the conspiracy’s chain of command. “We are working closely with state police forces to identify and apprehend every member of the terrorist module involved in the carnage,” said the officer.
He added that more arrests may follow based on interrogation of the accused and leads from digital evidence and forensic analysis. “The agency is expected to seek further custodial remand for the latest arrestees as it works to piece together the full contours of the plot.”
The attack in a high-security zone, barely metres away from one of Delhi’s most iconic monuments, triggered a multi-agency probe, sweeping raids across Delhi-NCR and Jammu and Kashmir, and lookout notices at airports. Investigators believe the bombing was part of a wider conspiracy aimed at staging coordinated strikes in the capital.