New Delhi: Investigators suspect that the fidayeen-style car bomb blast near the Red Fort in Delhi on Monday evening was a panic or retaliatory strike by members of the Faridabad terror module that was busted by the Jammu and Kashmir police over the last couple of days.
The blast killed at least nine people and injured several others, many of whom are critical. Union home minister Amit Shah, who visited the injured at the LNJP Hospital on Monday, has convened a meeting of top-level officials on Tuesday morning.
CCTV footage has revealed that the Hyundai i20 car was initially being driven by one Dr Mohammad Umar, an associate of Dr Muzamil Shakeel, from whose possession nearly 2,900 kg of explosive material was seized by the police earlier in the day on Monday.
Three doctors, including Shakeel, have already been arrested in the Faridabad terror module case.
The police have said that the high-intensity blast occurred around 6.52 pm, during peak evening hours when the vicinity, particularly near the historic Sunehri Masjid, was bustling with tourists and locals. The footage shows the white car entering the Red Fort parking area at 3.19 pm and departing at 6.48 pm, just minutes before the explosion.
Umar’s face is clearly visible behind the wheel initially, but as the car moves further, a masked man appears to take the driver’s seat. This raises questions on whether the car changed hands before the blast. DNA samples have been collected from the vehicle to ascertain the identity of the occupants.
The car’s route was partially reconstructed by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell using multiple CCTV clips. The vehicle possibly entered the capital through the Badarpur border.
The Jammu and Kashmir police, also part of the investigation, have traced the car’s ownership history, revealing that it originally belonged to one Mohammad Salman, who was arrested Monday night.
The vehicle reportedly changed hands several times. It was first sold to one Nadeem and then to a used-car dealer, Royal Car Zone in Faridabad’s Sector 37. The car was then purchased by Tariq, a resident of Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir. It finally ended up with Umar, who is suspected to be a member of the Faridabad terror module.
The registration certificate continues to remain in Salman’s name though.
India Today has quoted sources as saying that the Red Fort attack may have been a desperate or retaliatory act. It is believed that Umar panicked after Shakeel’s arrest and executed the explosion as a possible fidayeen (suicide) operation.
Though originally registered in Gurugram, the Hyundai i20 had been fined for illegal parking in Faridabad on September 20. Investigators believe that this is too much of a coincidence.
