New Delhi: In a major development in the Red Fort car bomb blast case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested the Kashmiri man who helped suspected suicide bomber Umar Nabi execute the strike.
Amir Rashid Ali, a resident of Samboora in Pampore, was arrested from Delhi. It has now come to light that the car used in the blast was registered in Amir’s name, and he had travelled to the capital to assist Umar in securing the vehicle that was later turned into a Vehicle-Borne IED (VBIED).
Amir had actively conspired with Umar, an assistant professor of general medicine at Al-Falah University in Faridabad, to carry out the deadly attack near the Red Fort on the evening of November 10.
It has also been revealed that there was another man who went to the car at the parking lot where it was parked for nearly three hours ahead of the blast. It is possible that the man was Amir.
DNA sampling has confirmed that the charred body recovered from the blast site was that of Umar, the suicide bomber who drove the explosive-laden car. The agency also seized another vehicle belonging to him, which is now being examined for additional evidence.
The NIA has questioned 73 witnesses so far, including several of the injured survivors of the blast.
The agency is working closely with Delhi Police, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Haryana Police, Uttar Pradesh Police and other central units as it follows multiple leads across states.
Officials believe the conspiracy extends beyond the two identified conspirators, and more arrests are likely as the investigation progresses.
