New Delhi – A devastating car bomb explosion near the historic Red Fort claimed 13 lives on Monday evening, with authorities now unraveling a sophisticated terror plot orchestrated by a network of medical professionals linked to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The blast, which ripped through a crowded area at 6:52 p.m., left nearly two dozen people injured, scattering debris across damaged vehicles and leaving a grim scene of mangled remains.
Police confirmed the toll climbed to 13 as recovery efforts continued into the third day of investigations led by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), supported by Delhi Police’s special cell. The explosive device detonated inside a white Hyundai i20, a vehicle with a convoluted ownership history spanning 11 years and five sales. Originally purchased in 2014 by Nadeem from a Gurugram dealership, it changed hands to Salman in 2017, Devendra in 2024, Amit Patel in Faridabad, and finally to Aamir Rashid using forged documents tied to Pulwama. Dr. Umar Mohammad, the suspected suicide bomber, allegedly funded the transaction. The car remains legally registered to Salman.
Forensic evidence has pinpointed Dr. Umar Mohammad, also known as Dr. Umar Un Nabi, a physician affiliated with Al-Falah University in Faridabad, as the perpetrator. DNA from bone fragments, teeth, and fabric scraps at the site matched samples from his mother and brother with 100% certainty. Communications records reveal Dr. Umar’s encrypted exchanges via the Session app with a handler codenamed “Ukasa” operating from Turkey. In March 2022, he joined a group trip to Ankara for indoctrination sessions with JeM operatives.
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Surveillance footage traced Dr. Umar’s movements across Delhi on November 10, capturing him at over 50 spots. He crossed the Badarpur toll at 8:13 a.m. using cash, prayed at Faiz-e-Ilahi Mosque in Turkman Gate, dined in Ashok Vihar, lingered near Sunehri Masjid from 6:30 a.m., and arrived at the Red Fort parking lot by 3:19 p.m. His route from Faridabad wound through Firozpur Jhirka and the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway; he spent the previous night at a roadside dhaba inside the vehicle. Video from the toll showed a black bag, believed to contain explosives, in the car’s rear seat.
Dubbed the “Jaish Doctor Module” or “Jaish-Ansar,” the cell centered on Al-Falah University, where Building 17, Room 13—assigned to Dr. Muzammil Shakeel—served as a clandestine planning den for attacks in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Authorities arrested three doctors from the institution: Dr. Umar Mohammad, Dr. Muzammil Shakeel, and Dr. Shaheen Saeed. They operated a private Threema server for secure coordination, exchanging maps, documents, and assignments through encrypted texts, calls, videos, and files under pseudonyms.
Dr. Shaheen Saeed, a staffer at Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences who often departed early citing “work,” possessed a rosary and hadith book at the time of her arrest. She maintained contact with Afirah Bibi, spouse of Pulwama attack architect Umar Farooq, and led JeM’s women’s branch, Jamaat-ul-Mominaat, in India, with ties to Sadia Azhar. A search of her Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire uncovered an assault rifle, pistol, and rounds; she was apprehended in Lucknow. Her former husband, father, and brother furnished insights into her operations.
Further detentions include Dr. Adil Ahmed Rather, a Jammu and Kashmir native nabbed in Saharanpur with a discarded October 31 Srinagar-Delhi flight ticket, linked to JeM propaganda posters in Srinagar threatening strikes on forces and “outsiders” for non-compliance with Shariah. Dr. Farooq, an assistant professor of obstetrics at GS Medical College in Hapur and an Al-Falah alumnus from Jammu, faces questioning over terror affiliations. In Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) held Dr. Mohammad Arif Mir, a standout cardiology student, for connections to Dr. Umar and Dr. Saeed.
Investigators uncovered four vehicles rigged for bombs among 32 hard-to-track used cars: the Hyundai i20 that exploded; a Maruti Brezza in Al-Falah’s lot, examined by Jammu and Kashmir Police; a red Ford EcoSport (DL10 CK 0458) ditched in Faridabad’s Khandawali village, where a detained youth in the backseat is suspected of hauling ammonium nitrate, a key ingredient in ANFO blasts when blended with fuel oil; and Dr. Saeed’s Dzire with its weaponry. Raids yielded 360 kg of explosives from Dr. Shakeel’s Dhauj residence. Ammonium nitrate precursors were sourced from Nuh, Haryana, with shopkeepers identified through footage confronted to Dr. Shakeel.
The plot envisioned phased serial bombings at six Delhi-NCR sites on December 6—the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary—as “retaliation.” Initially set for August 2025, it was postponed. Stages encompassed recruitment, material acquisition from Nuh and Gurugram, IED assembly, distribution, and detonation.
Scrutiny extends to Al-Falah founder Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, a Mhow, Madhya Pradesh native whose nine-firm empire, including Al-Falah Developers and Medical Research Foundation under the Al-Falah Trust, raises flags. His Kayastha Mohalla ancestral home in Mhow underwent searches amid an old criminal file. The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) suspended the university’s membership for lapses in standing, per AIU’s Pankaj Mittal; its site went offline; the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) issued a show-cause for outdated accreditation boasts; the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a funding probe with forensic audits; and the Economic Offences Wing reviewed operations. Agencies demanded records on personnel, properties, trusts, approvals, blueprints, University Grants Commission (UGC) ties, and Medical Council details.
Leads point to Dubai, Pakistan, and Turkey; Jammu and Kashmir’s Counter-Intelligence wing raided 13 sites tied to the Srinagar-Delhi nexus. A severed arm was recovered 300 meters away on a Lajpat Rai Market rooftop. At LNJP Hospital, patients like Mohammed Safwan, 28, from Chennai (ear trauma, abrasions, leg edema), and Shiva Jaiswal, 28, from Uttar Pradesh (hearing loss, burns, scrapes) are under care among 12 treated—six isolated, four in ICU, four in neurosurgery, one in trauma. Helplines include LNJP (011-23233400), emergency (011-23239249), AIIMS (011-26594405), and Delhi Police (112, 011-22910010/11).
Union Home Minister Amit Shah pledged the “harshest penalties,” vowing accountability. Congress leader P. Chidambaram’s “home-grown terrorists” remark ignited a BJP-Congress clash. National Conference’s Omar Abdullah cautioned against stereotyping Kashmiri Muslims, stressing collective innocence. Grieving children of victim Mohsin from Meerut called for swift justice. U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio labeled it a “clear” terror act, commending India’s probe. Singapore’s Vivian Balakrishnan denounced the assault and offered sympathies. The Red Fort Metro station remains shuttered for checks.
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