The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday announced a major breakthrough in the Red Fort area car bomb blast case. The agency announced the arrest of a Kashmiri man accused of conspiring with suicide bomber Umar Nabi to execute the attack that killed 13 people and injured around 25 others.
The accused, Amir Rashid Ali, in whose name the vehicle used in the blast was registered, was arrested in Delhi following an extensive search operation launched after the agency formally took over the probe from Delhi Police. According to investigators, Ali played a key role in facilitating the purchase of the car that was later turned into a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED).
Who is Amir Rashid Ali?
As per the NIA, Amir Rashid Ali is a resident of Samboora in Pampore, Jammu and Kashmir. He had allegedly travelled to Delhi to help buy the Hyundai i20 car used in the blast at Red Fort. According to investigators, the car – a white i20 registered in his name – was seen on several CCTV cameras stopping at different busy intersections in Old Delhi before the explosives went off at a crowded junction on the evening of November 10. Ali was later arrested in Delhi by the central agency.
What else did the NIA probe find?
“NIA investigations had revealed that the accused, a resident of Samboora, Pampore in Jammu and Kashmir, had conspired with the alleged suicide bomber, Umar Un Nabi, to unleash the terror attack. Amir had come to Delhi to facilitate the purchase of the car which was eventually used as a vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to trigger the blast,” the agency said in an official statement.
The anti-terror agency has also seized a second vehicle linked to Umar Nabi as part of its ongoing investigation. The car is currently being examined for forensic and material evidence, it said.
So far, the NIA has questioned 73 witnesses, including several of those injured in the November 10 blast that shook the national capital.
Working in coordination with Delhi Police, Jammu & Kashmir Police, Haryana Police, Uttar Pradesh Police and multiple central agencies, the NIA continues to probe the case across several states. The agency is following multiple leads to uncover the “wider conspiracy” behind the attack and identify all individuals involved, its official statement further stated.
