RCN against Dr Muzaffar, left India for Dubai
Excelsior Correspondent/ Agencies
NEW DELHI/Srinagar, Nov 13: A Medical College Professor and a Cardiology student, both from Jammu and Kashmir, were detained in Uttar Pradesh in connection with the Delhi blast even as investigators said more attacks were planned in four cities across the country by an interstate ‘white-collar terror’ module.
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Meanwhile, the Government on Thursday ordered a forensic audit of all records of the Al Falah University, which is under the scanner following the Delhi blast, besides asking the ED and other financial investigative agencies to check the money trail of the Haryana-based institution, sources said.
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The car blast near Red Fort on Monday night claimed 14 lives and injured several others.
Dr Farukh, an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics at Hapur’s GS Medical College, was detained by Delhi Police from the college campus on Wednesday night.
He completed his medical education from Al Falah University.
Mohammad Arif Mir (32), a first-year DM student at Laxmipat Singhania Institute of Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery of the State-run Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GSVM) Medical College in Kanpur, was detained by the Uttar Pradesh ATS.
The UP ATS later searched Arif’s rented accommodation in Ashok Nagar, Nazirabad, and seized his mobile phone and laptop for forensic examination before taking him to Delhi for questioning.
A native of the Khagur Sadiwara area in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag, Arif came on the ATS radar following disclosures made by former GSVM professor Dr Shaheen Sayeed, who has been arrested in connection with the terror module.
The Delhi Police also reconstructed Dr Umar Nabi’s last hours, right from leaving Faridabad the night before the blast to its execution, using footage from more than 50 cameras.
The investigators have found that the three suspects – Dr Nabi, who was behind the wheels of the Hyundai i20 that was laden with explosives, Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, and Dr Shaheen Shahid – allegedly used a Switzerland-based encrypted messaging app Threema to plan and coordinate their activities related to the terror conspiracy.
Umar had also created a Signal app group with two to four members to coordinate their operations.
Police, investigating the blast, said the suspects had pooled more than Rs 26 lakh in cash, which was handed over to Dr Umar for safekeeping and operational use.
Using the pooled money, the group had allegedly purchased around 26 quintals of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) fertiliser, approximately worth Rs 3 lakh, from suppliers in Gurugram, Nuh, and nearby towns. The fertiliser, mixed with other chemicals, is commonly used to manufacture Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
Around eight suspects were planning to carry out blasts in four cities and were planning to move in batches of two to each city to target them, police sources said.
Notebooks and diaries recovered from the rooms of Dr. Muzammil (Room 13) and Dr. Umar (Room 4) at the campus of Al Falah University contained several coded entries, names, and numerical sequences dated between November 8 and 12, suggesting detailed planning for multiple attacks. They also had rented accommodations to store explosives.
The repeated use of the term “operation” in the documents pointed to a high-level of coordination and organisation. Investigators found references to around 25-30 individuals, primarily from Jammu and Kashmir — the home state of the two doctors — as well as from Faridabad and adjoining areas, shedding light on the structure and reach of what officials are calling a “white coat terror module”.
Umar, who was known as an academically accomplished professional in his circle, allegedly turned radical over the past two years. Investigators said he had joined several radical messaging groups on social media.
While one car was used during the blast carried out near Red Fort, two others, a red Ford Ecosport and a Maruti Brezza car have been seized by security agencies.
A senior police officer said a large bag – believed to have contained explosives – was placed on the back seat of the car driven by Dr Umar, as he travelled to Delhi ahead of the blast.
The chilling hours of his journey from Haryana to the national capital have been pieced together bit by bit in a route-mapping exercise, showing how he halted for food at a roadside eatery near Delhi-Mumbai expressway and spent the night inside his car before entering the national capital the next morning.
According to police sources, Umar’s movements indicate meticulous planning and deliberate attempts to avoid detection.
A police source said he started on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway on Sunday and then got off the expressway, reaching Firozpur Jhirka in Haryana’s Nuh district. He reportedly stopped at a roadside dhaba there and spent the night inside his car.
“He appeared to be hiding but not in panic. He avoided major towns, preferring highways and small eateries,” the police source said.
Later, on Monday morning, he was again seen on CCTV cameras installed along the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, driving slowly toward Delhi. The footage shows him stopping twice, once for tea and once apparently to check his mobile phone.
Police said Umar entered Delhi the following morning through the Badarpur border, using the same route he had taken earlier from Faridabad.
“He seemed to have planned every step, including his entry and exit routes, to avoid detection,” said the police source.
In the footage from the Badarpur toll plaza, Umar can be seen driving a white Hyundai i20 car and stopping at the toll gate around 8.02 am on November 10, the day of the explosion. The car pauses briefly as Umar takes out cash and hands it to the toll operator before proceeding.
Meanwhile, Multiple central security agencies, including the NIA and the CBI, besides crack police teams from several states, joined the probe into Monday’s Delhi car bomb blast as the toll reached 14 and sleuths found the conspirators’ links to the Pakistan-based subversive group Jaish-e-Mohammad, sources said Thursday.
Intelligence agencies also claimed that the plotters – the ‘Doctor Terror Module’ – had planned attacks in Delhi on December 6, the day the Babri “mosque” was demolished 33 years back.
Meanwhile, with the death of another blast victim on Thursday morning, the toll rose to 14, with over 25 others injured. The deceased was identified as Bilal, Delhi Police officials stated.
Sources said eight doctors were initially part of the Terror Module. They had to carry out attacks on 32 locations in the entire NCR on December 6.
One of the vehicles – a Swift Dzire – the first to be seized and from which weapons were recovered, was registered in the name of Dr. Shaheen Shahid but was used by Dr. Mujammil Ahamed. The second car – an i20 – was allegedly used in the blast.
Meanwhile, as security agencies investigate a multi-city terror module linked to the JeM, the focus is now on a female commander Afira Bibi, last located in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
Reports suggest she was in contact with Lucknow-based Dr Shaheen Shahid, already arrested in connection with the module, to establish a women’s wing of the terror group in India.
Sources indicate Afeera maintained direct communication with Masood Azhar’s sister Sadia. She is the wife of JeM handler Muhammad Umar, who was killed in a security operation following the Pulwama terror attack in 2019. Her last known location was traced to Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
In Srinagar, Police have approached Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice against Dr Muzaffar in connection with the interstate terror module busted earlier this week linked Red Fort suicide blast while over 500 people were questioned as part of the investigation so far.
Dr Muzaffar Rather is the brother of Dr Adeel Rather who was among the eight people, including three doctors, arrested in the case linked to the Red Fort blast.
An official said that Dr Muzaffar’s name surfaced during interrogation of those arrested. He said Dr Muzaffar was part of the doctors’ team that visited Turkiye in 2021 along with Dr Muzammil Ganaie and Dr Umar Nabi, who was driving the explosives-laden car that detonated outside Red Fort on Monday, killing 14 people. The trio was in Turkiye for 21 days.
Police immediately tried to trace Dr Muzaffar only to find that he had left India for Dubai in August. The official said that he is presently believed to be in Afghanistan.
In the meantime, the family DNA test showed that the man who drove the car – the Hyundai i20 – that exploded near Red Fort on Monday, was Dr Umar.
The investigators had taken DNA samples of Dr Umar from the exploded car near the blast site on Monday and also took the DNA samples of his mother and brother.
“His DNA sample matched completely with that of his mother and brother. The DNA sample matched with several body parts of Dr Umar recovered from the exploded car.”
An official said that the police teams during night picked three persons from Pulwama, one identified as Fida Hussain Sofi of Trich Pulwama, working in Health Department, Ziyal-ul-Haq works in the Finance department and Prince Ahmad Bhat (Govt teacher) both residents of Koil Pulwama.
He said that raids connected with the Red Fort blast module were today carried out over a dozen places across the Valley. He said that several persons were detained and around two dozen digital devices including smartphones, laptops, iPads and tablets were seized.
The high alert in Kashmir continued for third consecutive day following the November 10 Delhi blast near Red Fort, which killed 13 people and injured over 20.
Security agencies have stepped up vigilance along key routes, including the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, railway stations, and border areas. Additional checkpoints have been established, and patrols have been intensified in sensitive areas.
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