As the probe into the blast near Delhi’s iconic Red Fort deepens, investigators today took three more doctors from Faridabad’s Al-Falah University into custody. The university has made headlines after three doctors linked to it came under the spotlight for their alleged involvement in terrorist activities, including yesterday’s blast that claimed nine lives and left over 20 injured. India’s premier anti-terror agency, the National Investigation Agency, has now taken over the probe into the blast that has shaken the nation.
Officers from the Delhi Police Crime Branch reached the university this morning, scanned CCTV footage of the campus, and also spoke to people there to gather more information about three doctors whose names have come up during their investigation into the massive explosives haul from Faridabad and the deadly blast that followed.
These three doctors are Muzammil Shakeel, Umar Mohammed, and Shaheen Shahid. Muzammil and Umar are from Kashmir, and Shaheen is from Lucknow, and all three had been working at the Faridabad hospital, investigators have found.
Muzammil’s name came up during the investigation into a massive recovery of explosives in Faridabad. About 2,900 kg of material used in bomb-making and other suspicious items were recovered from two rooms Muzammil had rented in Faridabad. In fact, he had rented these rooms even though he stayed on the university campus.
Besides these two rooms, assault rifles and ammunition were recovered from a car belonging to Muzammil’s colleague at Al-Falah University. This colleague is Shaheen Shahid. Shahid, the investigation found, held charge of the India branch of the Jaish-e-Mohammed women’s wing, Jamaat ul-Mominaat. This newly launched arm of the terror organisation is headed by Jaish founder Masood Azhar’s sister, Sadia Azhar.
Shortly after the recovery from Faridabad and talk of a foiled terror plot, the deadly blast near the Red Fort took place. As security agencies started joining the dots, the name Umar Mohammed emerged. Umar, it is learnt, was also working at Al-Falah and was a close associate of Muzammil. Investigators suspect that he was driving the Hyundai i20 car that exploded near a traffic signal. It is also being investigated if Umar decided to launch a suicide attack after security agencies cracked down on Muzammil and made the massive recovery.