November 16, 2025e-Paper
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November 16, 2025e-Paper
Updated – November 17, 2025 01:24 am IST – NEW DELHI
The NIA said on Sunday that Amir Rashid Ali, in whose name the car involved in the attack was registered, was arrested from Delhi. Photo: Special Arrangement
A week after a car explosion killed 13 people near the Red Fort in Delhi, the National Investigation Agency said on Sunday (November 16, 2025) that the driver of the car, Umar ul Nabi — a doctor by profession — was a “suicide bomber”. The agency has arrested a Kashmiri resident for allegedly conspiring with with the doctor to carry out the terror attack.
The NIA’s statement confirms that this was the first car-borne suicide attack in the national capital and only the second since the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, when a suicide bomber rammed his car carrying explosives into a bus, killing 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in south Kashmir.
Soon after the November 10 blast, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sources said that the initial investigation seems to suggest that the blast was premature and did not cause as much damage as it could have, as the suspect was acting hastily due to the pressure of police raids that had already led to the arrest of two of his colleagues.
The NIA said on Sunday that Amir Rashid Ali, in whose name the car involved in the attack was registered, was arrested from Delhi and the agency had launched a massive search operation after taking over the case from the Delhi Police on November 11.
The NIA said its investigations revealed that the accused, a resident of Samboora in Pampore, had conspired with the alleged suicide bomber, Dr. Nabi, to carry out 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 NIA said. The agency further said it had forensically established the identity of the deceased driver as Dr. Nabi, who hailed from Pulwama district, and was Assistant Professor in General Medicine Department in Al Falah University at Faridabad, Haryana.
“The anti-terror agency has also seized another vehicle belonging to Nabi. The vehicle is being examined for evidence in the case, in which NIA has so far examined 73 witnesses including those injured in the blast that rocked the national capital on November 10,” it said.
Working in close coordination with the police forces of Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, besides various other agencies, the NIA is continuing its probe across several States. “It is pursuing multiple leads to unearth the larger conspiracy behind the bombing and identify others involved in the case,” said the NIA.
Meanwhile, the J&K Police’s special cell, the Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), questioned a local doctor who rented out accommodation to a female doctor hailing from Haryana.
The search was carried out by the CIK sleuths at Anantnag’s Malaknag during the night, officials said. Initial reports suggested a mobile phone seized from the house and taken for forensic analysis.
Sources in the Delhi Police said on Sunday that five bullet cartridges, including two spent 9mm cartridges, were found at the blast site.
“The five bullets were found near the vehicle that caused the blast, these bullets are not permitted for civilian use and are issued only to specialised units or individuals, only on explicit permission,” said the officer. During investigation, the security agencies involved checked with the staff deployed at the spot but none of their ammunition was missing, said the officer.
Three more detained in Delhi blast case; two FIRs lodged against Al-Falah University
Delhi blast: CCTV footage shows violent tremor inside Red Fort metro station during car explosion
Delhi car blast accused Umar Nabi’s house demolished in Pulwama
Red Fort blast and an inter-State terror module: What we know
The J&K Police said that they have stepped up checks with car dealers and fertilizer sellers, especially those who deal with ammonium nitrate, in Kashmir.
A police spokesman said such verficication drives were held in Shopian, Kulgam, Awantipora, Ganderbal and Anantnag.
“Police teams are conducting verification of records and physical inspection of car dealers, automobile workshops, fertilizer shops and chemical shops. The checks aim to ensure that the sale, purchase, storage and transportation of vehicles, fertilizers and chemicals are carried out strictly in line with existing regulations,” the police said.
The police said necessary documentation was being scrutinised “to rule out any possibility of misuse”. The police asked business owners to extend full cooperation during the verification process.
The police said shopkeepers were being sensitised about maintaining proper documentation, following mandatory guidelines, and cooperating with law-enforcement agencies in monitoring suspicious bulk purchases.
“Such inspection drives will continue in the coming days to strengthen oversight and ensure compliance across all units dealing with sensitive materials,” the police said.
The drive comes as the J&K Police recovered around 2,900 kg of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, during raids in Haryana’s Faridabad on November 9-10. The recovery was made after a seven-member inter-State ”white collar” terror module was busted in Kashmir.
Three doctors were arrested in the terror module case from October 30- November 8 and the case was later found to be intrinsically linked to the Delhi car blast as the person at the wheel of the i20 car that blew up near Red Fort was identified as Dr. Nabi, an associate of two of the three arrested doctors – Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Adeel Ahmad Rather, all three from South Kashmir. The third doctor arrested by police, Shaheen Saeed, is from Lucknow and used to work at Al Falah University, where Dr. Ganaie and Dr. Nabi also worked. Dr. Rather was arrested from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
(with inputs from Alisha Dutta and Peerzada Ashiq, New Delhi/Srinagar)  
Published – November 16, 2025 07:40 pm IST
Jammu and Kashmir / India / investigation
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