New Delhi/Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA), the federal anti-terror probe body, on Thursday took formal custody of three doctors and a religious preacher who were previously arrested in connection with the deadly November 10 car blast outside the Red Fort in Delhi. The explosion claimed 15 lives and injured several others.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The transfer of the four accused, who were initially detained by the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police, marks a critical step in the NIA’s investigation into a sophisticated, trans-state terror conspiracy allegedly spearheaded by highly educated professionals.
The Accused Taken into Custody
The individuals transferred to NIA custody following production orders from a Delhi court are:
-
Dr. Muzammil Ganaie
-
Dr. Adeel Rather
-
Dr. Shaheena Saeed
-
Maulvi Irfan Ahmed Wagay (Preacher)
An NIA spokesperson confirmed the development, stating, “They had all played a key role in the terror attack that killed several innocent persons and left many others injured, as per NIA investigations.”
Unravelling the ‘White Collar’ Terror Plot
The investigation has centered on the unearthing of a ‘white collar’ terror module with alleged links to the banned Pakistan-based outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The module is believed to have operated across several states including J&K, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
The prime accused and alleged suicide bomber, Dr. Umar-un-Nabi, an Assistant Professor in General Medicine, was the driver of the explosives-laden Hyundai i20 that detonated.
The newly transferred accused are believed to be instrumental in the planning, logistics, and radicalization involved in the plot:
-
Maulvi Irfan Ahmed Wagay, a former paramedic turned preacher, is accused of radicalising key members of the module, linking them to militant networks.
-
The doctors are implicated in the logistics and planning, including the alleged procurement and storage of vast quantities of explosives, which investigators traced back to a university campus in Faridabad, Haryana.
Total Arrests Rises to Six
With the shifting of custody, the number of individuals formally booked by the NIA has risen to six. The anti-terror agency, which took over the case on November 11, had previously arrested two others:
-
Amir Rashid Ali: In whose name the explosive-laden car was allegedly purchased.
-
Jasir Bilal Wani alias Danish: Arrested for his role as an overground worker (OGW) and co-conspirator who allegedly provided technical support for the attack, despite ultimately backing out of becoming a suicide bomber.
The agency is now set to interrogate the three doctors and the preacher in-depth to further dismantle the conspiracy and identify any remaining co-conspirators in what is emerging as one of the most sophisticated terror plots uncovered in recent times.
