The agencies investigating the Delhi Red Fort blast and the Jaish-e-Mohammad module linked to it have uncovered what they believe is a large network connecting “foreign handlers” stretching from Afghanistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to local operatives in India, according to a Indian Express report. The main accused Umar Nabi was part of this very network, but there were others too.
Who are these foreign handlers?
Officials have identified at least two key “foreign handlers”, named, Faisal Ishfaq Bhat and Dr. Ukasha, who are thought to be based in PoK and Afghanistan, the IE report said citing sources.
A third person, named Hashim, has also been flagged. Investigators have told IE that Hashim he had been communicating with the arrested cleric Maulvi Irfan Ahmad Wagay and other members of the module through Telegram.
The probe agencies are now investigating the trails of calls, telegram chats, and all fund routes. Bank accounts worth Rs 2 lakh have also been frozen.
How did the first clues emerge?
Investigators say they first found signs of a link between “foreign handlers” and “local operatives” last month, when they began looking into threatening posters carrying the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) symbol. These posters suddenly appeared on shopfronts and street corners on October 19.
The next day, police arrested three men from Nowgam, namely Yasir-ul-Ashraf, Arif Nisar and Maqsood Ahmad Dar. During questioning, the three reportedly admitted they had created and put up the posters. The investigators revealed that it was Yasir who dictated the message, Arif designed it on his phone using an Urdu-font app, and Maqsood printed it at home.
Police also found that Arif was allegedly active on a Telegram group run by a JeM-linked handler in Pakistan, known as Hanzulla or Umer bin Khattab. The three also shared another common connection, cleric Maulvi Irfan Ahmad Wagay.
Wagay was arrested on October 27 from Nadigam in Shopian. His interrogation changed the case completely, turning it from a small propaganda incident into the first layer of a much larger militant network spread across states.
Investigators say Wagay admitted knowing the three men and said he had once given one of them a pistol and a grenade that he had received from Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat, an Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind militant from Chanapora. He said he later took the weapons back. Officials also say he was in contact with two handlers across the border, Hashim and Ishfaq, through Telegram.
How the network spread beyond Kashmir
Wagay also told investigators about an unexpected meeting two years earlier at a hospital in Faridabad, where he had travelled for a relative’s treatment. There, he met a Kashmiri doctor named Dr. Muzammil Ahmad Ganai. Once Ganai’s name surfaced, the probe widened sharply. The trail led from Nowgam to rented apartments and college hostels in Faridabad, Saharanpur and Nuh, where a group of doctors were allegedly preparing for an attack.
Wagay’s statement also resulted in the arrest of Zameer Ahmad, known as Mutlasha, from Ganderbal on October 27, nearly two weeks before the blast. Investigators say Zameer was active in Telegram groups such as “Farzandan-e-Darul Uloom Deoband” and “Kafila-e-Ghurba” and was allegedly in direct contact with handlers Hashim, Ishfaq and Dr. Ukasha, who are believed to be in Afghanistan, Pakistan or PoK. According to officials, he admitted handling money drops, weapon deliveries and other support activities in coordination with Wagay.
Based on information from Zameer and Wagay, police arrested Dr. Ganai from Al-Falah Medical College on October 29. His phone allegedly showed several Telegram identities – Musaib, Arshad, Jugnoo and Mujtaba – which he used to communicate with others. These included Dr. Adeel Ahmad Rathar, later arrested from Saharanpur, and Dr. Umar Nabi, who later carried out the Red Fort blast.
Investigators say Ganai also confirmed that the group was in touch with handlers Hashim, Ishfaq and Dr. Ukasha. They say he further revealed that the group raised large amounts of money through different channels.
On November 5, police arrested Dr. Rathar from Saharanpur. Umar Nabi, however, had already disappeared. He fled Al-Falah University the same afternoon that Dr. Ganai was detained. A Look-Out Circular was issued, and teams were sent to Delhi, Faridabad and Saharanpur, but he remained missing.
The blast near Red Fort
On November 10, CCTV cameras in Old Delhi showed a white Hyundai i20 entering a parking area near the Red Fort at 3:19 pm. The car stayed there for several hours. At 6:48 pm, it moved into the evening traffic. Moments later, a powerful explosion tore through the area. Forensic teams later found that the device used ammonium nitrate, potassium compounds and TATP, a mix known for producing extremely high explosive force.