The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested seven people in connection with the Red Fort blast case that left 13 dead and several injured after a Hyundai i20 exploded near the Lal Qila Metro station on November 10.
As per the agency, the seven are connected to Umar Nabi, the man allegedly behind the wheel of the i20 car.
Umar is suspected to be the leader of the “white-collar group” of doctors in a terror module busted days before the Red Fort explosion. Officials had confirmed he was driving the car after DNA samples were taken from his mother.
Currently, all seven accused are in the NIA’s custody and the agency is interrogating them.
Amir Rashid Ali: A Kashmiri resident, Amir had allegedly conspired with Umar by providing him logistical support, the NIA claimed. He was the first person who was arrested by the probe agency in this case.
The i20 was allegedly registered in his name. As per the NIA, Amir “had come 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.”
The agency also claimed that Amir arranged a safe house for Umar.
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Jasir Bilal Wani: Jasir, who is also in the NIA’s custody, had allegedly provided technical aid to Umar. He was allegedly the person who explained the technology of the IED blast to the other accused. He also allegedly “modified drones” and “attempted to make rockets” ahead of the blast.
Muzammil Ahmad Ganai, Adeel Ahmed Rather, Shaheen Ansari and Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay: All four were allegedly close associates of Umar and were part of a “white collar terror ecosystem” linked to Pakistan-based militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammad and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, the NIA claimed.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police had earlier arrested them: Wagay was arrested by the J&K Police on October 27, Muzammil on October 29, and Adeel Ahmed on November 5.
They four were taken into custody by the NIA in Srinagar.
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Umar, Muzammil and Shaheen worked at Al Falah University in Faridabad.
“They had all played a key role in the terror attack that killed several innocent persons and left many others injured, as per NIA investigations,” an NIA spokesperson said.
J&K Police had said they seized 358 kg of explosives suspected to be ammonium nitrate from Muzammil’s rented home in Faridabad’s Dhauj village.
Mohammad Soyab: A resident of Dhauj village in Faridabad, he is the seventh accused to be arrested in the case by the NIA. According to the agency, Soyab allegedly provided logistical support to Umar and harboured him before the blast.
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The NIA, which was handed over the investigation by the Union Home Ministry, is working closely with various state police forces to track and arrest everyone behind the blast. The agency is also closely tracking everyone Umar contacted over the last few months.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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