Security forces on Friday conducted a controlled demolition at the Pulwama residence of Dr Umar Nabi, a key suspect in this week’s Red Fort blast. The structure was destroyed with an improvised explosive device (IED) as part of the ongoing investigation into Monday’s explosion, which killed 13 people and injured over 20.
Officials said the operation was executed during the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. The controlled blast was planned after investigators linked the Hyundai i20 used in the Red Fort explosion to Dr Umar-un-Nabi, a Kashmir-based doctor believed to have been driving the vehicle moments before the detonation. His precise role remains under scrutiny.
Following the attack, the Jammu and Kashmir Police launched a series of overnight raids. Six people, including three family members of Dr Umar, were arrested.
His identity was formally confirmed after DNA samples from the blast site matched his mother’s DNA.
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Officials revealed that Dr Umar had maintained contact with two other Kashmir-based doctors arrested earlier in connection with the Faridabad terror module, which involved the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives.
Shift Toward Radicalisation and Encrypted Communications
Authorities said that Umar, once a promising and academically driven doctor, had grown increasingly hard-line over the last two years. During the probe, investigators found he had been part of multiple radical messaging groups on social platforms.
Officials also uncovered that the three primary suspects — Dr Umar Nabi, Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, and Dr Shaheen Shahid — relied on the Switzerland-based encrypted platform Threema to coordinate their alleged plans. Umar had additionally created a small private Signal group to manage parts of the operation.
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Police stated that the group had collected over ₹26 lakh in cash, which was handed to Dr Umar for operational expenses. Probe findings suggest the money was used to purchase around 26 quintals of NPK fertiliser, valued at ₹3 lakh, from suppliers in Gurugram, Nuh and nearby areas. NPK is widely used as a key component in IEDs when mixed with other chemicals.
Sources told PTI that roughly eight suspects were preparing to split into pairs and execute coordinated blasts across four cities, pointing to a wider terror plot beyond the Red Fort attack.
