Delhi Blast: Mother, brothers of absconding Dr Umar among 4 being questioned in Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir Police on Tuesday detained four individuals for questioning, including the mother of Dr Umar Nabi, who has been absconding since the suicide bombing in Delhi. Family members of the detained doctors, however, insisted that they had no connection to the case and were being unfairly targeted.

Two brothers of Dr Umar, who was working at Al-Falah University in Faridabad, have also been detained.

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Both doctors arrested in connection with the blast are from South Kashmir. Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather, arrested from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, is from Wanpora in Kulgam, while Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganai, arrested from Faridabad in Haryana, is from Koil in Pulwama.

A woman doctor from Uttar Pradesh working at the university’s hospital has also reportedly been arrested.

Amir Rashid from Pulwama district, whose Aadhaar card was reportedly used for purchasing the i20 car used in the explosion, is also being interrogated, said police sources.

Muzamila, sister-in-law of Dr Umar, said, “The security forces have picked up my husband, brother-in-law, and mother-in-law. They asked us about the whereabouts of Umar. We said he is in Delhi. Then they took the three away for questioning”.

She said, “We last spoke to Umar on Friday. He was very attached to my children and loved them a lot. Whenever he visited home, he used to be busy with cricket. Umar wasn’t that kind of man. We faced a lot of struggles to get him educated. We worked hard so that he could stand on his own two feet and take care of us. I cannot believe all this. He was engaged, but he was not married yet. He had not been home for the last 2 months. He didn’t have many friends.” He only used to study, she added.

Arrested Dr Muzammil’s brother, Azad Shakil, said, “He last visited us in June during our father’s surgery. Everyone is alleging that he is a terrorist, but we have nothing to do with it. There hasn’t been a single case against our family in 50 years. We are Indians by heart – we’ve even faced stone pelting for India. He was a good person. They are not allowing us to meet him. My sister’s marriage, which he was to attend, has now been cancelled,” Shakil added.

The police were also questioning the detained people about the car that was used in the explosion.

Hours before the explosion, J&K Police on Monday said it had busted a “white-collar” interstate terror module and arrested seven people, including three doctors, and seized over 2,900 kg of material (including explosives, chemicals, reagents, inflammable material, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote control, timers and metal sheets etc) used to make Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

The police said it has also recovered one Chinese Star Pistol (along with ammunition), one Beretta Pistol (along with ammunition), one AK-56 Rifle (along with ammunition), and one AK Krinkov Rifle (along with ammunition).

The investigation has revealed a white-collar terror ecosystem linked with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH) involving radicalised professionals and students in contact with foreign handlers operating from Pakistan and other countries, police said.