Hunt for two phones used by Umar are ‘biggest missing piece’ in probe

New threads in investigation

- Karn Pratap Singh and Leena Dhankhar

Investigators working to piece together the final movements of Dr Umar Un Nabi ~ the alleged “suicide bomber” in last Monday's deadly explosion outside Delhi's Red Fort ~have zeroed in on one element they now consider the most crucial in establishing his final moments: the digital footprint left behind by two mobile phones he was last seen carrying.

The phones, which he was seen using in CCTV footage from a medical shop in Haryana just days before the attack, have become the focal point in the probe into the shocking case. If traced, according to officials privy to the investigation, the devices could reveal the identities of the men who directed him, funded him — and whether the Red Fort blast was part of a larger plan.

At least five mobile numbers linked to him, across Delhi, Fari-dabad and Mewat, have been flagged. But the last two phones, the ones he used between October 30 and November 10, remain missing ~ and investigators say they are the “single biggest missing piece” in the puzzle.

Over the past week, investigators from the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Delhi Police Special Cell, and Jammu & Kashmir Police have worked to build a minute-by-minute reconstruction of Nabi’s final 36 hours. His movements — from Faridabad to Nuh to Delhi ~ are being plotted against tower dumps, CCTV timelines, encrypted chat logs and witness testimonies.

Officials said that the initial investigation has revealed that his two primary numbers were deactivated on October 30 - the same day his close associate, Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie, was apprehended. The timing, investigators said, is not a coincidence. It suggests that when Nabi learnt that agencies had cracked down on this apparent “white-collar” terror module, he abandoned all traceable phones and switched to two new prepaid numbers acquired using fake identities.