DNA Test Confirms Dr Umar Drove i20 That Exploded Near Red Fort: Sources

Dr Umar Mohammad drove the i20 car that exploded near Red Fort, claiming nine lives and injuring 20 people on Monday evening, sources told NDTV, citing the DNA test results. The explosion occurred at 6.52 pm on Monday. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has now taken over the investigation.

Dr Mohammad was working as a senior doctor at the Al Falah University in Faridabad. Sources said that his DNA sample matched 100 per cent with the DNA of his mother and brother. The DNA was matched with Umar's bones, teeth, and pieces of clothing that were found in the i20 following the blast.

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Earlier, Umar's mother was detained in Pulwama for the DNA testing. "We have taken the mother of the suspect to collect DNA samples in order to match them with the parts found at the scene of the blast," a police official told the news agency PTI.

Moreover, Umar's mother and his two brothers were also detained for questioning on Monday night, after the explosion.

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The blast came hours after the Jammu and Kashmir Police recovered nearly 3,000 kg of explosives from two residential buildings in Faridabad in Haryana. The police arrested Dr Muzammil Shakeel, who emerged as a key link in a "white-collar" terrorist ecosystem involving radicalised professionals.

READ: Terror-Accused Doctor's Life Decoded By Ex-Husband, Father And Brother

Shakeel was also employed with the Al Falah Medical College. His arrest came after Dr Adil Rather, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, was arrested for putting up posters supporting the proscribed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed in Srinagar.

Umar Mohammad, who owned the i20, reportedly panicked following the arrests of Shakeel and Rather and triggered the blast near the Red Fort. Both Shakeel and Rather have been linked to Monday's explosion.

Hours before triggering the explosion, Umar visited a mosque near the Red Fort, CCTV footage showed.

He parked the i20 at the Sunehri Masjid parking lot at around 3.19 pm Monday, a police officer told PTI. Before that, he went to the mosque on the Asaf Ali Road, close to the Ram Leela Maidan, where he allegedly stayed for three hours and offered namaz. 

"He stayed there (at the mosque) for three hours before leaving and heading towards the Red Fort. We are probing the matter from all angles," the officer said.