Delhi Red Fort Blast: NIA Arrests Four More Key Accused

File photo of the blast site near Red Fort. (PTI/File)

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested four more key suspects in connection with the 10 November blast outside the Red Fort in Delhi, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to six.

In a press release, the NIA said the four accused were taken into custody in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, following production orders issued by the District Sessions Judge at Patiala House Court.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganai from Pulwama (J&K), Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather from Anantnag (J&K), Dr Shaheen Saeed from Lucknow (UP), and Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay from Shopian (J&K).

The agency said all four “played a key role in the terror attack that killed several innocent persons and left many others injured.”

These arrests follow the earlier detention of two other suspects — Amir Rashid Ali, in whose name the car used in the blast was registered, and Jasir Bilal Wani, also known as Danish, who allegedly provided technical assistance to the terrorist involved in the attack.

With their custody now transferred to the NIA, which formally took over the investigation on November 11, the number of people booked by the agency has increased to six.

The 10 November blast occurred when a high-intensity explosive device detonated inside a car near the Red Fort, killing 15 people. Dr Umar-un-Nabi, who was driving the explosives-laden i20, had allegedly purchased the vehicle in Ali’s name.

Wani was arrested after it emerged that Umar had tried to persuade him to become a suicide bomber. Although he refused, he allegedly agreed to work as an overground supporter for the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed.

The arrested suspects are believed to be at the centre of a “white-collar” terror module uncovered by Jammu and Kashmir Police, working jointly with police teams from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

The investigation also led officers to Al-Falah University in Faridabad, where 2,900 kg of explosives was recovered just a day before the Red Fort blast.

(With inputs from PTI)