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New Delhi: DNA tests finally ended all doubts. The man inside the i20 was Dr Umar Nabi. His body had been torn apart in the blast, leaving nothing recognizable. Police quietly collected samples from his family in Pulwama. The lab matched them without a single mismatch. Investigators now say the car had barely stopped when the device went off. The explosion ripped through the area before anyone understood what happened.
The blast happened on November 10, right when the street was packed. One moment the Hyundai i20 was crawling forward, the next moment shop windows shattered like glass paper. Panic ran through the lanes around the Red Fort. People screamed, ran, didn’t know what had hit them. Investigators later found chemical traces in the burnt metal. Nothing about the device looked amateur. Officers believe the trigger was inside the car, not remote.
For weeks, Umar’s behaviour had not matched his old routine. He kept traveling between Delhi and Faridabad, quietly, without giving reasons. Several CCTVs spotted him near mosques across the city. On the day of the blast, his i20 was parked near a mosque at 3 PM. He stayed around for hours as if waiting for something. Cameras caught him leaving later and heading straight toward the Red Fort. Police say his route was too precise to be accidental.
The answer turned out bigger than expected. Investigators say Umar was part of a JeM-linked module. It wasn’t a random group; it was organised. Nine to ten people. Five to six trained doctors. They used their medical IDs to get chemicals that normal buyers can’t access easily. Their trail stretched from Faridabad to Lucknow to south Kashmir. This was not a one-man mission. It was a chain.
The first arrest was Dr Shaheen Shahid. Police say he handled coordination, quietly connecting people and materials. Two more names came soon — Dr Muzammil Ganai and Dr Ajamul Malik. All three had been in touch with Umar. Investigators believe they divided work like a proper unit. Phones, laptops, and documents are now under forensic study. Every small digital trace is being checked.
When police raided Umar’s home, the family looked stunned. They described him as a quiet reader, someone who rarely stepped out. But officers say something had changed. In the last few months, he travelled more, met new people, avoided questions. Names linked to radical circles started appearing in his phone records. Looking back, the family now realises the signs were there.
The Faridabad seizures shocked even senior officers. Nearly 2,900 kilograms of ammonium nitrate-enough for multiple blasts—was stored in a warehouse. A red Ford EcoSport registered in Umar’s name was also found, with a fake Delhi address. The case is now widening across states. More arrests are expected. Agencies believe the module had not finished its plans yet.