A total of 15 individuals have been arrested and three detained in connection with a “Doctor Terror Module” working for Jaish-e-Mohammad, which is believed to be responsible for the explosion outside the Red Fort on November 10. Jammu and Kashmir Police made all arrests, and a total of 56 doctors have been questioned so far.
Top hospital sources said that there were no traces of explosives on the bodies of the deceased killed in the Red Fort Blast, which took place at 6:52 PM. The investigation agencies are now claiming that a modified explosive might have been used in the blast.
The investigation traces back to an objectionable poster containing threats to security forces that was put up in the Nowgam Police Station area of Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. A case was registered on October 19 in this regard.
The initial phase of the investigation led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmed Wagh from Shopian and Zamir Ahmed from Wakura, Ganderbal, between October 20 and 27.
The probe then widened with the apprehension of Doctor Adil from Saharanpur on November 5. Subsequent seizures included an AK-47 rifle and other ammunition from Anantnag Hospital on November 7, followed by more rifles, pistols, and ammunition from Al Falah University in Faridabad on November 8.
Interrogations revealed more members of the module, leading to the arrest of Doctor Muzammil from Al Falah University. This prompted further arrests and the seizure of a large cache of weapons and ammunition.
On November 9, an individual named Madrasi, a resident of Dhoj, Faridabad, was held at his residence. The investigation reached a critical point on November 10, when a massive consignment of explosives, weighing 2,563 kg, was seized from the house of Hafiz Mohammad Ishtiyaq—a resident of Mewat who worked as an Imam at Al Falah Masjid in Dhera Colony, Faridabad. Additional raids yielded 358 kg of explosive material, detonators, and timers, bringing the total seized explosives to approximately 3,000 kg.
During these coordinated operations, a key suspect, Doctor Umar Mohammad—an employee of Al Falah University and a member of the module—went underground due to mounting pressure from security agencies.
On the evening of November 10, the explosion occurred near the Red Fort. Delhi Police and other security agencies immediately responded, and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah directed teams from the NSG, NIA, and Forensics to the site.
The injured were promptly hospitalised, and forensic teams collected DNA samples, explosive residues, and other evidence from the blast site.
In a significant discovery, an amputated hand was found, which agencies suspect may belong to Dr Umar Mohammad, who is alleged to have been the suicide bomber. DNA samples from his mother have been taken for comparison.
Investigations reveal that Umar was allegedly radicalising students at Al Falah University, which served as the group’s command centre. His neighbour, Dr Muzamil Shakeel, who also taught at the university, has been arrested. The car used in the blast was registered in the name of another associate, Dr Shaheen Shahid, who was later arrested in Lucknow. Dr Shahid, who also taught at the university, is identified as the woman commanding Jaish-e-Mohammad in India. Sources state she confessed to accumulating explosives for nearly two years and conspiring with associate doctors to carry out a major terrorist attack in India.
A joint team of police and NIA spent over two hours at the university on November 11, interrogating three people who worked in the university lab as part of the effort to ascertain the specific roles of the trio and their associates.
While it is almost conclusively established via CCTV footage that Dr Umar was driving the vehicle and that the explosives used matched the material seized in Faridabad, it remains under investigation whether the blast was a pre-planned attack or an accidental detonation caused by Umar’s panic and desperation while fleeing.
i20 car was stationed at the Medical College before the Delhi Attack:
Investigations have revealed that the vehicle used in the terror incident was parked for an extended period at the Al-Falah Medical College campus in Dhauj, Faridabad. According to investigative sources, the car remained parked within the college premises for nearly 11 days, from October 29 until it was driven to Delhi on November 10.
The investigation of the case was formally handed over to the NIA on November 11 to uncover all aspects of the module, including its financing and operational hierarchy.
15 Arrested, 3 Detained:
The accused in this pan-India operation include five from Jammu & Kashmir—Arif, Yasir, Maqsood, Irfan, and Zameer—along with one more from J&K, Dr Sajjad. Arrests from other regions include Dr Adeel Raider from Saharanpur, Dr Mozammil Ahmad and Dr Shaheen Shahid from Faridabad, and Dr Pervez from Lucknow. Additionally, one doctor from Sector 56 in Faridabad and four lab technicians from Al Falah University have been detained, while three individuals from J&K—Tariq, Amir, and Umar—are currently under questioning but have not been formally arrested.
Victim Identification and DNA Analysis Underway at Lok Nayak Hospital:
At Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital, eight of the 12 victims have been identified, and their bodies have been handed over to their families. The deceased have been identified as 35-year-old Amar Katariya, 34-year-old Ashok Kumar, 35-year-old Mohsin Malik, 35-year-old Dinesh Kumar Mishra, 52-year-old Lokesh Kumar Agrawal, 23-year-old Pankaj Saini, 19-year-old Mohammad Nauman, and 35-year-old Jumman. Meanwhile, sources from LNJP Hospital report that the remains of four other individuals, consisting only of body parts, have been received, and the process for their DNA analysis is ongoing, with results expected to take at least 24 hours.
In a parallel investigation to conclusively establish that Dr Umar Mohammad was in the i-20 car where the explosion occurred, the DNA from a body fragment recovered from the vehicle is being analysed and compared with a DNA sample obtained from his mother in Kashmir.