The National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the white-collar terror cell linked to the Delhi car blast, has arrested the 8th accused in the case in which 11 people were killed. The accused was identified as Dr. Bilal Naseer Malla.
He is accused of providing safe haven to Dr. Umar-un-Nabi, the suicide bomber, and destroying evidence in the plot, officials said. Dr Bilal was arrested from Delhi.
“The NIA found him involved in the conspiracy behind the terrorist attack that killed 11 persons and injured several others in the Red Fort area. According to the NIA investigation, Bilal knowingly harbored the late accused Umar Un Nabi by providing him logistical support,” the investigating agency said in a statement.
The NIA also said that Dr Bilal Naseer Malla was also involved in the destruction of evidence linked to the Delhi blast case. Also read | Delhi blast update: Three bullet casings recovered from the spot, no weapon recovered so far
“The NIA is continuing to investigate the conspiracy behind the deadly terror attack. The counter-terrorism agency is working closely with various central and state agencies to unravel all the threads of the conspiracy,” the agency said.
Dr. Bilal was produced before the designated Chief District Court and Magistrate Anju Bajaj Chandna here sent him to NIA custody for seven days. The court also extended the NIA custody of Amir Rashid Ali, another accused in the Red Fort blast case who was produced alongside Bilal, by seven days. Also read | J&K Police make fresh arrest, Pulwama electrician linked to ‘white collar’ terror module detained
Since taking over the investigation, the NIA has taken seven people into custody, including three doctors—Dr. Muzzamila Ganaie, Dr. Adeel Rather and Dr. Shaheen Sayeed – and religious preacher Maulvi Irfan. Besides, the NIA arrested two people – Amir Rashid Ali and Jasir Bilal Wani alias Denmark.
Amir Danish Ali is the one in whose name Umar Nabi bought the car which was loaded with explosives including ammonium nitrate. The same car exploded in front of the Red Fort.
The white-collar terror cell was busted by the Jammu and Kashmir police along with their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, leading investigators to Faridabad’s Al Falah University, where 2,900 kg of explosives were recovered.
