Red Fort blast: Muzammil Ahmad Ganai, currently in 10-day National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody along with Adeel Ahmed Rather, Shaheen Saeed Ansari and Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay, had received over 42 bomb-making videos through encrypted apps, The Indian Express reported. Investigators believe the videos were sent by one of the alleged foreign handlers whose role in the Delhi terror attackis being examined for similarities to recent DIY-style bombings in India. Ganai is also a close aide of 36-year-old Umar Nabi, who was behind the wheel of the “slow-moving” i20 car.
42 videos on encrypted apps
According to a report by The Indian Express, the three handlers in the terror attack on the national capital have been identified as “Hanzullah”, “Nisar”, and “Ukasa”. However, these names may be aliases. “Hanzullah” sent 42 videos on how to make bombs to Ganai. The 35-year-old was reportedly responsible for securing a storage site for the explosives that the “white-collar” terror module later used.
ALSO READRed Fort blast: Who are Faisal Ishfaq Bhat and Dr Ukasha? Probe reveals wide network of ‘foreign handlers’
Ten days before the terror attack on the national capital, Ganai was arrested following the recovery of more than 2,500 kg of explosives, including 350 kg of ammonium nitrate, from his premises.
One of the persons of interest in the case is foreign handler Mohammed Shahid Faisal, who uses names like “Colonel”, “Laptop Bhai”, and “Bhai”. According to sources quoted by The Indian Express, he may have coordinated with terror modules in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to plan bombings dating back to 2020. Faisal, one of the absconding accused in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast, went missing after police found an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba-linked terror plan in Bengaluru involving young engineers, doctors, and others.
He reportedly fled to Pakistan and moved to the Syria-Turkey border. Interestingly, one of the handlers in the Delhi terror attack is based in Turkey. He is identified as “Ukasa”.
Delhi terror attack
On November 10, a blast near Delhi’s Red Fort killed 15 people and left many injured. Following this, police filed an FIR into the case and filed a fresh one as the investigation moved on. The new FIR has been filed under sections of criminal conspiracy. According to investigating agencies, eight suspects were allegedly preparing a coordinated series of explosions across four locations, with each pair assigned to a specific target city. Preliminary findings suggest that these groups had planned to move in pairs, each carrying multiple improvised explosive devices (IEDs) for simultaneous attacks.
ALSO READWhat are the charges against Al Falah University founder Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui?
Investigators traced one of the first module connections to Al-Falah University, where arms, explosives, ammonium nitrate, and other materials were recovered. Although the university denied any involvement and said that it would cooperate with the agencies, a Delhi court has sent its founder and chairperson to 13-day ED custody.
Faridabad Police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate Al-Falah University’s alleged involvement in an extremist module connected to the Delhi terror attack. The SIT is scrutinising the university’s funding, functioning and potential networks that may have allowed the accused doctors to function unnoticed.
The Mhow Cantonment Board in Madhya Pradesh has served a final demolition notice to the family of Al-Falah University chairman Mohammad Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, alleging that their ancestral house in Mhow contains unauthorised construction. The family is said to have moved out of the four-storey residence – “Maulana’s Building” – in the early 2000s.
Earlier, ED conducted raids at 25 locations linked to Al-Falah University, including its office in Okhla. |
