Terror link: From Al Falah University to Red Fort

 

 

SOURCES in a major revelationin Delhi blast case on Wednesday claimed that the accused Dr Umar Muhammad assembled the explosives in a public parking space near the Red Fort. The Hyundai i20 involved in the explosion was being driven by Dr Umar Muhammad, a resident of Koil village in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir. The explosion occurred on November 10 near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station. The Haryana-registered Hyundai i20 suddenly exploded, sending shockwaves through the high-security area. The investigation was focused on key questions surrounding the three crucial hours Umar spent in the Red Fort parking lot. During those three hours, was Umar talking on the phone?

 

Did he meet anyone in Delhi or Faridabad? Was the area around the Red Fort part of a reconnaissance plan? Was he waiting for the peak hour when the crowd would be at its maximum? -- such questions are still being investigated. Records show that the car entered the Red Fort parking lot at 3.19 p.m. and exited at 6.22 p.m. During this, Umar did not get out of the car even once. The bomber was in contact with his handlers as he entered the blast area, as the investigative sources revealed that the net activity was heightened in the area throughout the day. However, Umar and his associates had not considered that it was a Monday and the Red Fort was closed to the public. The parking lot was mostly deserted. Consequently, the plan to detonate a blast in the parking area was abandoned, sources said. 

 

 

A DELHI court on Wednesday sent Al Falah group chairperson Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui to ED custody for 13 days even as the agency claimed that he had “incentives” to flee India as his close family members are settled in the Gulf. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Siddiqui on Tuesday night after conducting day-long searches against the group, linked persons and the Faridabad-based Al Falah University, which is at the focus of investigation in the November 10 Delhi blast case that killed 15 persons and injured several others. The federal probe agency also informed the court that Siddiqui received funds of at least Rs 415 crore generated “dishonestly” from students of educational institutes run by his trust. He was produced before Additional Sessions Judge Sheetal Chaudhary Pradhan at her residence close to midnight. The proceedings lasted till 1 am. The judge said, “After carefully considering the submission made, I am of the considered view that all the compliances under Section 19 of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) have been done.” “Considering the gravity of the offence and that the investigation is at nascent stage, I deem it appropriate that the accused is granted ED custody remand for a period of 13 days (till Dec 1),” the judge ordered. The ED had sought a 14-day custody. The university’s role emerged during probe into a ‘white-collar’ terror module in which 10 people, including three doctors, have been arrested by the NIA and Jammu and Kashmir Police.