Red Fort blast and an interstate terror module: What we know

A Faridabad university, the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives and, a few hours later, a powerful car blast near the Red Fort killing 13 people. In the three days since November 10, eight people have been arrested and many detained, the information coming in a confusing sometimes conflicting torrent.

As multiple agencies join the dots from Kashmir, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to draw out a terror plot centred around three doctors from south Kashmir, here's what we know so far based on what officials have said...

The dramatis personae of an interstate 'white collar' terror plot orchestrated by the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM):

Dr MUZAMMIL AHMAD GANAIE ALIAS MUSAIB

The plot began to unravel on the morning of November 10 when police announced that 360 kg of ammonium nitrate was recovered from his rented accommodation in Faridabad's Al Falah University where he was working. Ganaie is from Koil village in south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Shortly after, Jammu and Kashmir police, which is coordinating the operation with its counterparts from various states, said 2,900 kg of explosives was found from in and around the university and a 'white collar' terror module busted.

DR UMAR NABI   

The 28-year-old, from Qazigund in south Kashmir, was driving the car that detonated on the evening of November 10. His involvement was confirmed after DNA samples with his mother matched the body parts found at the site. Nabi, who also worked at Al Falah, is believed to have been the most radicalised of the lot. He drove the Hyundai i10 around the city on that fateful Monday, parked it near the Red Fort complex for three hours and then drove it slowly in the evening. It is believed the explosives were in the car and he may have panicked. There was no shrapnel.

It is likely he was assembling a vehicle-based improvised explosive device (VBIED) after taking lessons on its construction and detonation circuit from open sources available on the internet, officials said. Officials said a premature explosion may have taken place.

DR MUZAFFAR RATHER

Police is on the lookout for Muzaffar, also from Al Falah and Qazigund. He came under the scanner after the questioning of those who were arrested. They told their interrogators that Nabi, Ganaie and Muzaffar had travelled to Turkiye for 18 days in 2021. He left India in August and is believed to be in Afghanistan.

Police has moved the Interpol for issuing a Red Corner Notice against him. They said the entire 'white-collar' terror module was being run by the three and used Telegram to talk to their handler in Pakistan.

DR SHAHEEN SAYEED

The woman doctor from Lucknow, the only one of the eight arrested who is not from Kashmir, was privy to the conspiracy being hatched by the three doctors. She was aware of the logistics being planned, apparently in time for the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6.

She told her interrogators that the three doctors helped expand the network and roped in others. These included Haryana preacher Maulvi Ishtiyaq, who is under detention with the Jammu and Kashmir police and whose rented premises in Al Falah were also used for storing the explosives.

WHEN IT ALL STARTED

On the intervening night of October 18-19, posters of the banned JeM surfaced on walls just outside Srinagar city. The posters warned of attacks on police and security forces in the Valley.

Srinagar police decided to treat the matter as a serious issue and not just as a one-off incident. A case was registered against unknown people and a team formed to investigate the matter thoroughly. Three people — Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid — were arrested after CCTV footage showed them pasting the posters.

During interrogation, they named a former paramedic turned preacher Maulvi Irfan Ahmad from Shopian as the one who had supplied the posters. He was arrested.

This was the thread that led to the unravelling of the plot. It was his interrogation that finally led investigators to Al Falah university and the group of Kashmiri doctors.

He was also instrumental in the radicalisation of Ganaie, Umar and Muzaffar, officials said. The three began to stock ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sulphur in small quantities from the open market and storing it, they added.

The details of the plan were pieced together after interrogation of the eight people arrested for their alleged links to the JeM centred in Faridabad and conversations with their family, friends and neighbours.

THE EIGHTH ARRESTED

Dr Adeel Rather, the brother of Muzaffar, was arrested from Saharanpur on November 7. An AK-56 rifle and other ammunition were seized from his locker at Anantnag hospital. His role is not clear.

AL FALAH UNIVERSITY

The till now unknown university in Dhauj village in Faridabad abutting Delhi started off as an engineering college in 1997. Spread across 76 acres, it now houses a medical college, a 650-bed hospital and a medical sciences and research centre. Besides, three colleges are run inside the campus — Al Falah School of Engineering and Technology, Brown Hill College of Engineering and Technology and Al Falah School of Education and Training.

Police has so far seized three cars belonging to the accused from Faridabad and adjoining areas. Interrogations are on to find out whether any other VBIED was assembled.