A week after a car blast killed 13 people near Delhi’s Red Fort, the National Investigation Agency on Sunday (Nov 16, 2025) said the driver of the car, Umar ul Nabi – a doctor by profession – was a “suicide bomber”. The agency has arrested a resident of Kashmir for allegedly conspiring with a doctor to carry out a terrorist attack.
The NIA statement confirmed that this was the first suicide car attack in the national capital and only the second since the Pulwama terror attack in 2019, when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a bus, killing 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in south Kashmir.
Shortly after the November 10 blast, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that the initial investigation appeared to indicate that the blast was premature and did not cause as much damage as it could have because the suspect acted 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 launched a massive search operation after taking over the case from the Delhi Police on November 11.
The NIA said its investigation revealed that the accused, a resident of Samboora in Pampore, conspired with alleged suicide bomber Dr. Nabim to carry out a terrorist attack.
“Amir came to Delhi to facilitate the purchase of a car which was eventually used as an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the vehicle to trigger the blast,” the NIA said. The agency further said it has forensically identified the deceased driver as Dr Nabi, who hailed from Pulwama district and was an assistant professor in the department of general medicine at Al Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana.
“The counter-terrorism agency has also seized another vehicle belonging to Nabi. The vehicle is being examined for evidence in the case in which the NIA has so far interviewed 73 witnesses including those who were injured in the blast that rocked the capital on November 10,” it said.
In close coordination with police forces in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, besides various other agencies, the NIA is continuing investigations in several states. “It is following several leads to unravel the larger conspiracy behind the bombing and identify others involved in the case,” the NIA said.
Meanwhile, the Special Cell of the J&K Police, Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), has questioned a local doctor who rented accommodation to a doctor hailing from Haryana.
The search was conducted by CIK sleuths in Anantnag’s Malaknag during the night, officials said. Initial reports indicated that a cell phone was seized from the home and taken for forensic analysis.
Delhi Police sources said on Sunday that five shell casings including two spent 9mm cartridges were recovered from the blast site.
“The five missiles were found near the vehicle that caused the explosion, these missiles are not authorized for civilian use and are only issued to specialized units or individuals, only with express permission,” the officer said. During the investigation, the security agencies involved checked with the personnel deployed at the spot, but none of their ammunition was missing, the officer said.
J&K Police said they have stepped up checks on car and fertilizer dealers, especially those dealing in ammonium nitrate, in Kashmir.
A police spokesperson said such verification drives were conducted in Shopian, Kulgam, Awantipora, Ganderbal and Anantnag.
“Police teams are conducting record verification and physical checks on car dealers, car workshops, fertilizer shops and chemical shops. The aim of the checks is to ensure that the sale, purchase, storage and transportation of vehicles, fertilizers and chemicals are carried out strictly in accordance with the applicable regulations,” the police said.
Police said the necessary documentation was being reviewed “to rule out any possibility of misuse”. The police asked the business owners to fully cooperate with the verification.
Police said traders are sensitive to keeping proper records, following mandatory guidelines and cooperating with law enforcement agencies to monitor suspicious bulk purchases.
“Such inspection drives will continue in the coming days to strengthen surveillance and ensure compliance in all units dealing with sensitive materials,” the police said.
The drive comes as the J&K police found around 2,900 kg of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, during raids in Haryana’s Faridabad on November 9-10. The correction came after a seven-member interstate “white collar” terrorist cell was arrested in Kashmir.
Three doctors were arrested in the October 30 to November 8 terror pod case and later found to be intrinsically linked to the Delhi car blast as the person behind the wheel of the i20 that exploded near Red Fort was identified as Dr. Nabi, an associate of two of the three arrested doctors – Muzammil Ahmad Ganai and all three from South Khamad Ratherash Adeel Adeel. The third doctor arrested by the police, Shaheen Saeed, hails from Lucknow and previously worked at Al Falah University, where Dr. Ganaie and Dr. Nabi. Dr. Rather was arrested from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
(with contributions by Alisha Dutta and Peerzada Ashiq, New Delhi/Srinagar)
Published – 16 Nov 2025 19:40 IST
