Red Fort blast: Who is Amir Rashid Ali, Umar Nabi’s aide arrested by NIA?

Ali, a resident of Samboora, Pampore, is alleged by the central agency to have conspired with Umar Nabi, the alleged suicide bomber, to carry out the attack.

The NIA made the first arrest in the Red Fort blast case on Sunday. (Express photo)

Amir Rashid Ali, a Kashmiri resident, has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly conspiring with Umar Nabi, the accused in the November 10 explosion outside the Red Fort, in which 13 people were killed and several others were injured. It is the first arrest the law enforcement agency has made in the case.

The Hyundai i20 car involved in the explosion outside the Red Fort Metro Station was registered in the name of Amir Rashid Ali. He was earlier arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police from Pampore a few hours after the blast. Ali, a resident of Samboora, Pampore, is alleged by the central agency to have conspired with Umar Nabi, the alleged suicide bomber, to carry out the attack.

According to the agency, Amir had travelled to Delhi to facilitate the purchase of the car, which was eventually used as a vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to trigger the blast.

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After matching DNA samples from the remains found inside the wreckage of the i20 with those of Umar Nabi’s mother, investigators have confirmed his identity. Nabi, a resident of Pulwama district, was an Assistant Professor in the General Medicine Department at Al Falah University in Faridabad. The agency, which has launched an investigation across states, has also seized another vehicle belonging to Umar.

Notably, forensic analysis of the explosives used in the blast has confirmed the presence of a mixture of ammonium nitrate and triacetone triperoxide (TATP), highly potent chemicals whose sale and handling are heavily regulated, The Indian Express has learnt. Initial findings from the forensic science laboratory indicate that at least 30–40 kg of ammonium nitrate was present in the car, which could have caused an explosion of such magnitude.

Investigators are also probing a possible link between the Delhi blast and the Faridabad terror module, as part of which 358 kg of ammonium nitrate and other bomb-making materials were seized.

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