Delhi Blast Case: NIA arrests 8th accused

Searches Anantnag forest area

Srinagar: The sleuths of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday carried out searches in the forests of Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district in connection with the Delhi car blast case.

Official sources said that the NIA team, assisted by J&K Police, started searches in the forest area of the district in connection with the November 10 terror blast near the Red Fort in which 13 civilians were killed, and many others were injured.

Sources said the NIA team has brought along two accused, namely Dr Adil Rather and Jasir Bilal Wani, to pinpoint the exact spot for the ongoing search.

A white collar terror module operated by local doctors was busted by J&K Police and Haryana Police in the Faridabad area in Haryana.

This led to the arrest of two conspirators, Dr Adil Rather and Dr Muzammil Ganai, while the third conspirator, Dr Umar Nabi, evaded arrest.

Dr Umar Nabi carried out the blast of his explosive-laden car near the Red Fort, in which the bomber was killed, while 13 innocent civilians became victims of the explosion.

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently said that the terror conspiracy owes itself to a gilded love affair.

He said that one of the terror conspirators, Dr Muzammil Ganai, had a love affair with a local girl. The lovers became estranged after Muzammil started ignoring his girlfriend.

The annoyed girlfriend went to the police, disclosing that the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) outfit posters had been pasted by Dr Muzammil. Muzammil’s arrest led to a Maulvi’s arrest, and then the entire conspiracy was unearthed by the police.

Police also arrested Dr Umar Farooq and his wife, Shahzada, in connection with the white collar terror module. The couple is accused of using their social status to lure youth towards terrorism.

Shahzada Akhtar is accused of trying to revive the women’s terror group ‘Dukhtaran-e-Milat’ that got defunct after the arrest of its chief, Asiya Andrabi, in 2018.

Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested another key accused in connection with last month’s Delhi bomb blast case.

According to the NIA, Dr Bilal Naseer Malla of Baramulla (J&K) is the eighth accused to be arrested in the case RC-21/2025/NIA/DLI.

He was nabbed by an NIA team from Delhi. “NIA found him involved in the conspiracy behind the terrorist attack that killed 11 persons and injured several others in the Red Fort area,” the NIA said in a press note.

As per the agency’s investigations, Bilal had knowingly harboured the deceased accused Umar Un Nabi by providing him logistical support.

He is also accused of the destruction of evidence related to the terrorist attack.

The agency further stressed that it is continuing with its investigation into the conspiracy behind the deadly terror act.

The anti-terror agency is working closely with various central and state agencies to unravel all the threads of the conspiracy.

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