JEM 'DOCS' BEHIND BLAST NEAR RED FORT

THE powerful explosion near Delhi's Red Fort, which killed at least 12 people and injured several others, was allegedly orchestrated by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) under the directions of its UN-designated chief, Maulana Masood Azhar, according to a senior Intelligence Bureau officer.

- SUMIT KUMAR SINGH @New Delhi

Investigators said the Pakistan-based group had cultivated a network of radicalised doctors to plan Pulwama-style, vehicle-borne suicide attacks in the national capital.

Officials said the Delhi blast bore similarities to the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, where locally radicalised individuals were used to execute coordinated strikes that led to the death of 209 people. The explosion was triggered by an IED planted in a white Hyundai i20, intended for a larger attack. The driver, suspected to be Dr. Umar Mohammad Nabi, was part of a “white-collar” terror module comprising doctors allegedly linked to JeM operatives in Kashmir.