NIA arrests Faridabad man for sheltering bomber Umar before November 10 Red Fort blast

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested a resident of Faridabad for allegedly sheltering terrorist Dr Umar Muhammad, also known as Umar Un Nabi, in the period immediately preceding the November 10 car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort.

The accused, Soyab, who lives in Dhauj village in Haryana’s Faridabad district, is the seventh person taken into custody in connection with the case. Investigators said he provided Umar both a safe hideout and “logistical support” that enabled the execution of the car bombing, which killed several people and injured many others.

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Six of Umar’s associates had already been arrested under case RC-21/2025/NIA/DLI, with the agency stating that further arrests are likely as the probe expands to map the wider network.

According to the NIA, teams have been carrying out coordinated searches across multiple states with the help of local police forces. Officials said the focus remains on identifying every individual linked to the conspiracy as well as tracing the supply chain of explosives used in the attack.

Revelations from interrogation

Information gathered from those already in custody has given investigators fresh insight into Umar’s movements and methods. Members of the module told interrogators that Umar travelled with what they described as a “mobile workstation”, a large suitcase fitted with bomb-making equipment, chemicals and containers.

Umar, who had worked as a medical professional at Al-Falah University in Faridabad, allegedly conducted chemical experiments inside his campus room. One of the arrested men, Dr Muzamil Shakeel, also from the same university, told investigators that Umar tested several compounds before building the final improvised explosive device (IED).

Inputs cited during questioning, including those from earlier NDTV reports, suggested that Umar conducted controlled tests of chemical reactions before assembling the main components. The police later recovered bomb-making material from the suitcase, supporting those claims.

Investigators believe Umar carried a partially assembled IED in the Hyundai i20 car used in the attack. They say he completed the device shortly before the explosion by mixing acetone, powdered sugar, and urea.

Sources also indicated that the group initially intended to move their explosive materials to Jammu and Kashmir, where Umar reportedly planned a larger operation. When the plan failed, he began sourcing urea from the Nuh-Mewat region in Haryana for the final device.

Muzamil Shakeel is learnt to have told interrogators that Umar referred to himself as the “emir” of the module, and investigators said he was described as the most educated and linguistically skilled member of the group, with proficiency in nine languages.

The NIA said the investigation is continuing, and more details are expected as teams follow leads emerging from the arrests.