Gaps in Umar's last drive under scrutiny

Investigators turned their attention on Thursday to fully reconstructing the final hours of Kashmiri doctor Umar Un Nabi, who allegedly carried out the car explosion near the Red Fort earlier this week, to ascertain if he was in touch with other, yet unidentified, members of an alleged terror module even as at least five people across two states were detained in the case.

- Karn Pratap Singh, Jignasa Sinha and Prawesh Lama

The developments came on a day security agencies focussed on four cars - allegedly owned by Umar and another arrested accused Dr Shaheen Shahid - and said the ammonium nitrate allegedly used in the blast was likely sourced from fertiliser shops and mining suppliers in Basai Meo, Tauru, and Ferozepur Jhirka in Mewat and rural Faridabad.

Officials aware of the matter said Umar allegedly had prepared IEDs inside the i20 that he was driving and which eventually blew up in front of the Red Fort, basing their findings on the recovery of items from the charred vehicle - which included electronic detonators, remote timers, battery and broken bottles of chemicals.

"From the examination of the site, it is clear that Umar made an IED with whatever he could find that day. The fact that detonators and timers were found shows that he made the IED. The chemicals have been identified by the forensic experts. There are different types of chemicals recovered from the site, of which one has been identified," an official aware of the matter said.

During investigations into Nabi and his associate Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie, police said they the two met in 2021-22 and had travelled to Turkey, Nepal, UAE and other places over the last three-and-half years.

A senior police officer from Special Cell said, "We found that in 2022 in Turkey, they met JeM handlers. They were constantly in touch with their "handlers" who gave them instructions. We have confirmed this from their Signal and Telegram activities. For now, we have zeroed in on two names Dr Ukasha and Dr Hashim. It's not confirmed if these are their real names or user names on the internet. We also don't know if they are based in India or abroad. They were instructing Umar to collect funds from his associates. There was also some fight between Umar and others over funds. We are analysing all their social media activities and chats."