Red Fort car blast: NIA arrests ‘active co-conspirator’ Jasir Bilal Wani; reveals drone attacks were being planned

Continuing with its probe into the Red Fort area car bomb blast case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested another key associate, Jasir Bilal Wani, of the terrorist involved in the blast, according to the official release.

“Jasir Bilal Wani alias Danish, also a Kashmir resident, was arrested from Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir by an NIA team that was in the Valley in the case,” NIA said.

A resident of Qazigund in Anantnag, Wani allegedly provided technical support for carrying out terror attacks by modifying drones and attempting to make rockets ahead of the deadly car bomb blast, the agency said in a statement.

Read the complete statement by NIA

The agency is exploring "various angles" to solve the conspiracy behind the November 10 blast in the national capital.

"Several teams of the anti-terror agency are pursuing multiple leads, and are conducting searches across states to identify every person involved in the terror attack," it said.

The NIA has described Umar Un Nabi, who was behind the wheel when the car exploded near the Red Fort, as a "suicide bomber". Also, NIA has used the term "vehicle-borne IED" for the car.

Red Fort car blast: Death toll rises to 15

Meanwhile, the death toll in the Delhi car blast case has risen to 15 after two victims succumbed to injuries.

According to Delhi Police, the total number of deceased has reached 15, including three partial body parts. One of the victims succumbed to injuries yesterday, while another victim, named Vinay Pathak, died today, as reported by ANI.

Investigators probing the terror module allegedly linked to Dr Umar Un Nabi, whom security agencies identified as the one who drove the explosive-laden car which went up in flames in the blast on November 10 at Red Fort, have found evidence of an organised internal structure, encrypted communication channels and coordinated movement of weapons, official sources told ANI on Monday.

ANI reported, citing sources, that Umar had created a Signal group around three months ago using a name with special characters. He added Muzammil, Adeel, Muzaffar and Irfan to this encrypted communication platform, which investigators believe was used for internal coordination.

Delhi Police confirmed that the man who carried out the car blast near Red Fort was Dr Umar Un Nabi, after forensic DNA testing matched his biological sample with that of his mother, ANI reported.

However, Al-Falah University has distanced itself from Dr Umar and Dr Muzammil, stating that the University has no connection with the accused beyond their official capacities, and that no questionable chemical or material is being used or stored on the University premises.

(With inputs from agencies)