After Delhi Red Fort Blast, Arrested J&K Doctors Being Questioned: Sources

Two Kashmiri doctors, who were arrested in the Faridabad terror conspiracy case, are being questioned about the blast near Delhi's Red Fort this evening that killed nine and injured dozens of people. The nature of the blast is not known yet. Home Minister Amit Shah said investigators are probing all angles and no possibility is ruled out.

The blast occurred hours after the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana Police teams recovered thousands of kilos of suspected explosives and a cache of arms and ammunition from two houses in Haryana's Faridabad. Both the houses were rented by Dr Mujammil Shakeel, a doctor from Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama who has emerged as a key link in a "white collar" terrorist ecosystem involving radicalised professionals. The recovered substance is likely ammonium nitrate.

Another doctor, Adil Ahmad Rather, was arrested after an AK-47 rifle was recovered from his locker at the Government Medical College (GMC) by Srinagar Police, with the assistance of the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) Anantnag. As per sources, it was Rather's confession that led to the arrest of Shakeel on October 30 and the recovery of a large amount of explosives.

Blast Near Red Fort

The blast, which triggered a fire that damaged several vehicles in its vicinity, took place near one of the gates of the Red Fort Metro Station. The Red Fort is a major tourist attraction in the Old Delhi section of the city.

Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha told reporters that "a slow-moving vehicle stopped at a red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged."

Visuals showed mangled bodies on the ground and pools of blood spattered across the road (Updates here).

White Collar Terror Module

The "white collar" terror module was busted by police and intelligence agencies during raids at locations across J&K (Srinagar, Anantnag, Ganderbal and Shopian) and Faridabad over the past few days.

On Sunday, the officials recovered 350 kgs of explosives, 20 timers, assault rifles, handguns and ammunition from a room that Shakeel had been renting in Dhoj for the past three and a half years. A pistol with eight live rounds, two empty cartridges and two additional magazines were recovered in the raid. 

The second raid took place 4 kilometres away in Fatehpur Taga village, where investigators seized 2,563 kg of suspected explosives. This house was also rented by Shakeel.

Shakeel, worked at Al Falah Medical College and Hospital in Faridabad. Al Falah University in Faridabad's Dhoj, around 45 km from Delhi, is privately run and recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC).