The National Investigation Agency (NIA) told a Delhi court that it has requested an expert from Jamia Milia Islamia to interpret “radical” material in Arabic extracted from digital devices of the accused persons in the terror module case related to the blast near Red Fort on November 10 last year. It has also asked the court for 45 more days to conclude the probe.
“Judicial custody of the… accused persons is also required to confront /interpret radical material so extracted from their digital devices. In this regard, an expert from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, has been requested to provide an interpretation report after thorough analysis of the radical material as procured, to ascertain the content of the fundamentalist/extremist nature of these literatures & articles, which are in Arabic language, seeking to promote/propagate violent jihad and preparation of bombs through household everyday articles and chemicals,” the NIA submitted before the court on March 23.
The central probe agency made multiple arrests in connection with the blast, which left 13 dead and several injured after a Hyundai i20 car exploded near the Lal Qila Metro station.
The NIA told the court that its investigation has yielded “multiple new leads” which are required to be proved to unearth the “larger conspiracy” behind the incident.
“During investigation, the NIA has also identified certain WhatsApp groups wherein the arrested accused persons were members… Based on the above technical analysis, legal interception of certain mobile phone numbers, including WhatsApp Legal Interception (VoIP), has been done with the aim of identifying other members ascribing to the radical/jihadi ideology of the terror module and to identify the potential associates and handlers of the arrested accused,” the agency submitted before the court.
It also said that nine residential premises in Jammu and Kashmir were searched on Monday during which multiple digital devices have been seized, whose technical analysis is pending.
“Approximately 5TB data has been extracted from the digital devices and sent to CERT-in and CFSL, DFSS for scrutiny and the same is still under progress. During scrutiny of the extracted data, incriminating information and facts emerged in the form of videos, voice samples, radical literature, handwritten books etc,” the agency said.
As per the NIA, the disclosure statements of the accused persons revealed that they were in “contact with certain foreign entities through online platforms and pseudonymous social media accounts”.
It also told the court that the accused could attempt to influence key witnesses who are being examined if the extension of investigation is not granted.
As per the agency, which has arrested over 10 people in the case, all the accused are connected to Umar Nabi, the man who was allegedly in the i20 car which had caused the blast. Officials had confirmed he was driving it after collecting DNA samples of his mother.
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 others behind the blast. It is also closely tracking everyone Umar contacted over the last few months. Umar is suspected to be the leader of the “white-collar group” of doctors, part of a terror module that was busted days before the Red Fort explosion.
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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