The white Hyundai i20 car that exploded near Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday, killing nine people, was first seen at Connaught Place and Mayur Vihar – two of the capital’s biggest areas – hours before the suspected suicide bomber, Umar Nabi, parked the vehicle in the Sunehri Masjid parking lot in Chandni Chowk, Delhi Police sources said. LIVE UPDATES
The car, with the number plate HR 26CE7674, entered the parking lot at 3:19 pm on November 10 and left around 6:30 pm.
Sources said the vehicle was parked on the Al-Falah University campus from October 29 to November 10. It was standing next to a Swift Dzire car owned by Dr Muzammil Shakeel – who was arrested in connection with a massive haul of explosives found in Haryana’s Faridabad. The car, however, was registered under Dr Shaheen Saeed’s name, from where assault rifles and ammunition were recovered.
Sources also revealed that apart from ammonium nitrate, high-grade military explosives were used in the blast in the national capital.
The explosion took place on Monday at 6:52 pm near the Red Fort Metro Station, leaving mangled bodies and wrecked cars scattered in the busy area. This occurred on a day when 2,900 kg of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, were found in Faridabad. Sources said that the suspected suicide bomber may have panicked and triggered the blast after investigators arrested two key members of the module – Dr Muzammil Shakeel and Dr Adil Rather – and seized the explosives.
An initial assessment of the blast site also indicated the suspects may have panicked and made a mistake while carrying the explosives, top intelligence sources told NDTV. The suspect appeared to have assembled the improvised explosive device (IED) improperly, due to which the IED had a limited impact, they said.
More evidence pointed towards an accidental explosion as there was no blast crater formation and the absence of projectiles at the site. Investigators believe the suspects, in a panic, could not arm the IED for maximum damage.
The sources, however, have not ruled out the possibility that the explosion happened when the suspects tried to relocate or get rid of the explosives.
The investigating agencies are also probing any foreign connections with the module as the handler was operating from abroad, sources said.