Suspected Suicide Bomber Stayed Inside Parked Car For 3 Hours Before Blast: Sources

Dr Umar Mohammad, the suspected suicide bomber in the blast near Delhi's Red Fort area that killed nine people, stayed inside the car for over three hours at a parking lot near the fort, sources said.

According to sources, he did not get out of the car even for a second when the car was parked. The suspected suicide bomber was either waiting for someone or awaiting instructions in the parking lot, they said.

The Hyundai i20 car, with the number plate HR 26CE7674, entered the parking lot at 3:19 pm and left around 6:30 pm.

CCTV video emerged showing the car entering the Badarpur border, with cops investigating the route, sources said.

A picture shows the car entering the parking lot with the suspected suicide bomber's hand on the window. He can be seen in another picture in which he appears to be wearing a blue and black t-shirt.

The original owner of the i20, Mohd Salman - who was arrested - sold the car to a man named Devender in March, Delhi Police sources said. Devender then sold it to a man called Aamir, who handed the vehicle over to Tariq - who hails from Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. He then sold it to Umar, sources said.

Both Aamir and Tariq are being questioned.

The blast took place at 6.52 near the Red Fort Metro Station, leaving mangled bodies and wrecked cars scattered in the busy area. Disturbing visuals showed bodies on the ground and severed body parts. Moments after the blast, a large number of security personnel filled the area, and ambulances carrying several injured people streamed into nearby Lok Nayak Hospital (LNJP).

The incident occurred on a day a massive haul of 2,900 kg of explosives was found just 50 km from the capital, in neighbouring Haryana's Faridabad. Sources said that Dr Umar Mohammad, who owned the car, reportedly panicked and triggered the blast near the Red Fort after investigators arrested two key members of the module - Dr Mujammil Shakeel and Dr Adil Rather - and seized the explosives, the sources said.

He planned the attack with two more associates and planted a detonator in the car, sources said.

Ammonium nitrate, which was found in Faridabad, was used in the blast, sources added.