AMIR Rashid Ali, a key accused in the Red Fort area car bomb blast case that left 15 people dead, was on Monday remanded in 10 days’ NIA custody as the agency seeks to unravel the conspiracy behind the inter-state “white collar” terror module. The National Investigating Agency on Monday told a Delhi court that Ali allegedly arranged a safe house and provided logistical support to Dr Umar Nabi, the “suicide bomber” who was driving the explosive-laden car that detonated outside the Red Fort on November 10, killing 15 people.

 

Ali, a resident of Pampore in South Kashmir, was brought to the court of Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna at the Patiala House courts complex amid tight security. Mediapersons were barred from entering the court premises, which virtually turned the proceedings ‘in-camera’. According to NIA’s remand paper, Ali’s custodial interrogation was required to uncover the entire conspiracy.

 

It said that Ali, the registered owner of the vehicle used in the incident, allegedly provided logistical support to Umar. The remand paper also claimed that Amir had arranged a safe house for Umar in the days leading up to the blast. It said that the blast’s precision and intensity had been deliberately designed to instil fear in the minds of the public, besides causing alarm and panic. Underscoring the seriousness of the alleged plot, it said that the act was intended to threaten and destabilise the nation’s sovereignty and unity.

 

The agency also told the court that Ali would be taken to Kashmir for further investigation. The judge then allowed the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) plea seeking custodial interrogation of the accused for 10 days. A heavy deployment of Delhi Police and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) was seen outside the court premises, besides personnel equipped with anti-riot gear on standby to maintain order. Ali was likely the last person to have been in contact with Dr Umar Nabi.