A joint team of the Delhi Police Special Cell, Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) detained a student from Deoband town in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh on suspicion of his role in the Delhi blast case, sources confirmed on Wednesday.
The student, Ahmad Raza, a resident of Pathanpura, Deoband, is currently in his third year of MBBS, is studying at Al-Falah University in Faridabad. He had returned to Deoband only five days ago.
According to sources, during preliminary investigation, indications emerged suggesting possible links between Ahmad Raza and the recent explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort. Officials reportedly recovered several important documents from his possession. Evidence of his contact with Dr Adil Ahmad and Dr Muzammil Shakeel has also surfaced, including multiple phone conversations found in call detail records. However, the joint team has not officially confirmed these findings.
Raza is currently being interrogated intensively. It is said that he had not visited home for a long time and returned abruptly to Deoband shortly after the Delhi blast.
Meanwhile, investigation agencies working on networks linked to Dr Adil have widened their scrutiny to include nearly 15 doctors in the Saharanpur district.
The STF and Jammu & Kashmir Police are examining around 32 suspicious mobile numbers found in Dr Adil Ahmad Rathar’s diary. Most of these numbers reportedly belong to students from a private university and various madrasas in Saharanpur. Dr Adil had written certain codewords and locations alongside several of these numbers. Investigators are also questioning Arif Sheikh, owner of Famous Medicare Hospital and a timber merchant, along with other close associates of Dr Adil.
Meanwhile, Congress MP from Saharanpur, Imran Masood, described the accused Dr Umar as a “misguided youth” during a special interview with a TV channel.
After the remark circulated widely on social media, he issued a clarification, stating that the only solution for a terrorist is strict action, adding that betrayal of the nation can never be justified.