On Sunday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced the arrest of a key conspirator in the Red Fort blast incident — a plumber from Kashmir who possessed the Hyundai i20 that detonated near the historic site on November 10, resulting in the deaths of 11 individuals. This marks the first occasion the agency has labeled the driver of the vehicle as a “suicide bomber.”
In its statement, the federal anti-terrorism agency indicated that the suspect, Amir Rashid Ali, allegedly conspired with Dr. Umar Un Nabi, the individual who was driving the car at the time of the explosion, to execute the attack. The NIA reported that Ali had traveled to Delhi with the alleged intent of facilitating the acquisition of the vehicle, which was ultimately utilized as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) to instigate the blast.
Furthermore, this is the first instance in which the agency has classified the car as a “vehicle-borne IED.”
“Amir Rashid Ali, the individual under whose name the vehicle involved in the attack was registered, was apprehended in Delhi… The suspect, a resident of Samboora, Pampore in Jammu and Kashmir, had plotted with the alleged suicide bomber, Umar Un Nabi, to execute the terror attack,” the statement indicated.
Ali was one of the two individuals who accompanied Umar in the Hyundai i20, which halted at a petrol station in Sector 27, Faridabad, to obtain a PUC certificate on October 29. The third individual was identified as Sonu, who was employed at the second-hand car dealership from which Ali ultimately purchased the i20; he was taken into custody by the Jammu and Kashmir Police the day following the explosion.
At 6:52 PM on November 10, a slow-moving i20—having been sold several times, modified with a CNG tank, and bearing the registration number HR26CE7674—detonated at a traffic signal close to the Lal Quila metro station. The resulting fire incinerated at least 11 individuals.
The agency, which assumed control of the case a day following the explosion, stated that forensic examinations confirmed Umar was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the detonation. “NIA has forensically identified the deceased driver of the Vehicle Borne IED as Umar Un Nabi, a resident of Pulwama District and an Assistant Professor in the General Medicine Department at Al Falah University,” the statement indicated.
It further noted that the NIA has also confiscated “another vehicle” belonging to Umar. “This vehicle is currently under examination for evidence related to the case, in which the NIA has thus far interrogated 73 witnesses, including individuals injured in the explosion,” the agency reported.
Previously, investigators had seized three vehicles—a silver Maruti Brezza, a red Ford EcoSport, and a Maruti Swift Dzire—as they endeavored to reconstruct the logistics and transportation network associated with the Red Fort explosion. Security agencies have concentrated on what they have termed a “white-collar terror network” that spans Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, which may have been orchestrating an attack for several months.
The Special Cell of the Delhi Police has lodged a separate FIR to probe the wider criminal conspiracy of the module, including the procurement of explosives and the acquisition of vehicles intended for a suicide attack akin to the 2019 Pulwama incident.
Security officials familiar with the situation have indicated that they are collaborating closely with other central agencies and police forces to trace the extensive network implicated in the attack.
“Numerous teams are pursuing leads across various states as part of efforts to unveil the larger conspiracy surrounding the case. The investigation remains ongoing and complex, with the agency concentrating on identifying further suspects, funding sources, and potential foreign connections,” an officer stated, requesting anonymity.
