NEW DELHI: The capital shook on November 10 when a car laden with explosives blew up in front of the Red Fort, claiming 13 lives and injuring many. What followed was a series of fearful days. An investigation unravelled a white-collar terror module and arrest of three doctors among others.
The driver of the i20 car, which was used in the blast was identified as Dr Umar Un Nabi, an assistant professor at Al Falah University in Faridabad. Investigative agencies found a widespread network connecting foreign handlers operating from Afghanistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to local operatives, including Umar Nabi.
If reports are true, Kashmir had become almost aware of the ‘planning’ of some attack after few posters were found in Srinagar in mid-October. It led to identification of a suspected terrorist group operating locally, mostly plotting revenge after Operation Sindoor. Later, when the probe took its turn, it was revealed that the conspirators in the case had been radicalised by Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic at the GMC Srinagar hospital.
The NIA arrested nine people, including three more doctors, Dr Muzammil Ganaie, Dr Adeel Rather and Dr Shaheen Sayeed, and religious preacher Maulvi Irfan. On December 18, NIA arrested the ninth accused in the case, Yasir Ahmad Dar, a Jammu and Kashmir resident and allegedly a close associate of Umar-un-Nabi.
Hiding behind their sophisticated background, the terrorists were operating what has been termed a “white collar” module that had links to the Pakistani terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed. The government and the opposition condemned the attack, promising strict action against the “anti-national” forces.
However, the capital took a relatively long time to recover from the aftermath of the incident, with the bustling Chandni Chowk market closed and the metro partly operational for days. While some locals recollected the horrors of blood and flesh strewn in the area, some echoed memories of the 2006 serial blasts, and for many it was the loss of the only breadwinner in the family.
As the probe continues and security agencies grill the offender and co-conspirators, the anatomy of the terror attack is still a half-solved puzzle.
