Delhi Blast: As part of the ongoing investigation into the Red Fort blast that rocked the national capital last week, Faridabad police on Monday continued questioning several Kashmiri students living on rent in the city.
Police are looking for possible clues and links to an alleged “white-collar terrorist cell” allegedly responsible for a car explosion that killed at least 12 people and injured many others on November 10.
More than 2,000 tenants and students have been questioned so far, with more questioning underway, police officials told news agency ANI.
Since the blast, investigative agencies have also launched an inter-state probe to find any alleged link to the blast and the module members, with investigations underway in areas like Delhi, Faridabad (Haryana) and Jammu and Kashmir.
Delhi blast: Investigation underway
One of the first links to the alleged “terrorist module” was uncovered at Faridabad’s Al-Falah University, where officials found caches of weapons, explosives, ammonium nitrate, among others.
Earlier, Faridabad Crime Branch team reached the university campus to conduct investigation related to the case. Investigating agencies are continuing to follow leads coming from various places in the Delhi-NCR region.
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During the investigation, the intelligence agencies revealed a ₹A $20,000 million trail associated with three doctors, Umar, Muzammil and Shaheen. Intelligence sources said on Sunday that the money is suspected to have been channeled by a Jaish-e-Mohammed handler through the hawala network.
Around ₹3 million of this amount is believed to have been spent on buying 26 cents of NPK fertilizer, a chemical compound based on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium used in agriculture, which is also capable of making the explosives used in the blast, ANI reported.
What is “White Collar Terrorism”
White-collar terrorism refers to extremist activities typically carried out by educated professionals such as doctors, engineers, professionals, and corporate employees to name a few.
These individuals use their skills, networks and social credibility to plan, support and carry out terrorist operations or activities. Because these individuals hide behind a certain social image, it makes white-collar terrorist networks more difficult to detect and significantly more dangerous, according to the StudyIQ report.
According to the report, unlike conventional militants, white-collar terrorists:
— Act through professional and academic networks
— Enjoy minimal control thanks to a trusted social status
— Use legitimate credentials to mask radical activities
— Facilitate funding, logistics, recruitment and exploration
Details of the Delhi blast
On the evening of November 10, an explosion near the Red Fort complex in the state capital killed 12 people and injured several others. Later, the person involved in the car blast was identified as Dr. Umar Un Nabi, who worked as an assistant professor at Al-Falah Medical College and Hospital.
Read also | Delhi blast: Lal Quila Metro CCTV captures moments of Red Fort car blast
Al-Falah University, however, from Dr. Umara distanced herself and said that the university has no connection with the accused beyond their official capacities and that no dubious chemicals or materials are being used or stored in the university premises, ANI reported.
Preliminary investigations show that the accused groups planned to move in pairs, each carrying multiple Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to carry out multiple attacks.
