In a significant development in the Delhi blast case, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, in a joint operation with the Special Operations Group, has made a fresh arrest. The individual, Tufail Niyaz Bhat, a native of Srinagar who worked as an electrician in Pulwama, was apprehended from an industrial estate for questioning.
Evidence and Arrest in the Red Fort Blast
The explosion, which occurred near the historic Red Fort on 10 November, resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people, including the suicide bomber, Umar Un Nabi. A local CID officer confirmed to Hindustan Times that there is concrete evidence linking Bhat to the planning of this devastating attack.
A Delhi court has recently sent four other accused to 10 days of NIA custody, underscoring the seriousness of the ongoing investigation.
How the 'White Collar' Terror Module Was Busted
The unraveling of this sophisticated terror network began with an investigation by the Srinagar Police into a seemingly unrelated incident: the pasting of threatening posters targeting police and security officials in the Nowgam and Bunpora areas in October.
Leading the probe, Senior Superintendent of Police (Srinagar) Dr G V Sundeep Chakravarthy identified the first three suspects through CCTV analysis. They were identified as Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid.
The investigation revealed that the person supplying these posters was a paramedic-turned-imam, Maulvi Irfan Ahmad. Authorities believe he played a pivotal role in radicalizing the doctors who were later involved in the Delhi blast.
This trail eventually led the police to the Al-Falah University in Faridabad. From there, they arrested Dr Muzzafar Ganaie and Dr Shaheen Sayeed and made a critical recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives. Dr Ganaie, Umar Nabi (the driver of the explosives-laden car), and the currently absconding Muzzaffar Rather are believed to be the core operatives running the entire module.
Al-Falah University's Long-Standing Terror Links
Investigations have shed light on the deep-rooted terror connections associated with Al-Falah University. According to PTI reports, a former student of this institution is Mirza Shadab Baig, a fugitive Indian Mujahideen bomber wanted in the 2008 serial blasts case.
Baig, an accused in the serial blasts that rocked Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Gorakhpur, completed his BTech in electronics and instrumentation from Al-Falah in 2007. He has been missing since the 2008 Batla House encounter and was last traced to Afghanistan in 2019, with Indian agencies suspecting his current base to be Saudi Arabia.
Adding to the university's troubled profile, a team from the Punjab Police had previously visited the campus to question individuals regarding a 45-year-old doctor arrested from Pathankot. The police believe this doctor maintained contact with some of his former students at the university and have collected information about his connection with the deceased bomber, Umar Nabi.
