Red Fort car bomb blast: NIA gets 10-day custody of four more accused

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday obtained 10-day custody of four more prime accused involved in the November 10 blast near the Red Fort, taking the total number of arrests in the case to six.

The accused were taken into custody by the NIA in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on production orders from the District Sessions Judge, Patiala House Court. They were produced before the court, which sent them to 10 days’ custody of the NIA.

The agency has identified them as Dr. Muzammil Shakeel Ganai of Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Adeel Ahmed Rather of Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Shaheen Saeed of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, and Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay of Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir. They had all played a key role in the terror attack that killed several persons and left many injured, as alleged by the NIA.

The four accused were previously held by the Jammu and Kashmir Police for their suspected links with a “terror” module. The police had also seized about 2,900 kg of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, during the raids in Haryana’s Faridabad on November 9 and 10.

The investigators have found that Dr. Saeed, Dr. Ganai, and Dr. Rather worked with Al Falah University, Faridabad, as also Umar un Nabi, who was allegedly behind the wheel of a bomb laden car that exploded on November 10 near the Red Fort.

Earlier this week, the NIA arrested two other accused, Amir Rashid Ali, in whose name the car used in the blast was registered; and Jasir Bilal Wani alias Danish, who had allegedly provided technical aid to the terrorist involved in the deadly attack. They are currently in NIA custody.