Red Fort blast: MHA hands probe to NIA; suspect’s parents held for DNA test

New Delhi/Srinagar, Nov 11: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), on Tuesday, handed over the investigation into the Delhi Blast 10/11 near the Red Fort to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Reportedly, the NIA, which exclusively handles terrorism-related cases, will take charge of the investigation into the explosion that killed at least 12 people and gutted several vehicles on Monday evening.

“The blast case has been handed over to the NIA,” a senior official told the press.

The decision came hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in the national capital and other parts of the country.

Shah, who earlier directed top investigating agencies to go "in-depth into the case", has called for another review meeting on late Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, police in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir have detained the parents of Dr. Umar Nabi, the suspected driver of the Hyundai i20 that exploded near Red Fort.

Officials said, the suspect’s mother was taken for DNA testing to match samples with remains found at the blast site, while his father, Ghulam Nabi Bhat, was picked up from his residence in Koil village for questioning and DNA match.

In Delhi, the owner of the Hyundai i20 used in the explosion, identified as Mohammad Salman, has been detained for questioning.

While no official arrests have been made so far, authorities confirmed that he is being questioned as part of the larger terror investigation.

"Our investigation is ongoing. We got to know that the car procured a pollution certificate from a petrol-filling station to ensure that if police stop it near the border, it can show all documents. Many details are emerging and we are connecting all the dots," the source said.

Investigating agencies have so far scanned over 1,000 CCTV clips from the Red Fort Metro Station and surrounding areas.

The footage has helped establish the 11-hour route taken by the car, revealing its movement from Faridabad to Delhi before the explosion.

The car was first seen outside Asian Hospital in Faridabad at 7:30 am on Monday and crossed the Badarpur toll plaza at 8:13 am, entering Delhi. By 8:20 am, CCTV captured it near the Okhla Industrial Area.

Around 3:19 pm, it entered a parking lot near the Red Fort complex, where it stayed for nearly three hours. At 6:22 p.m., the car left the parking area, heading toward the Red Fort — and at 6:52 p.m.; the powerful blast tore through the moving vehicle.

A massive team of over 500 officials from the NIA, Intelligence Bureau (IB), National Security Guard (NSG), Delhi Police’s Special Cell, and other agencies has been formed to carry out a coordinated investigation.

Preliminary findings suggest the blast may have been a suicide attack connected to the “white-collar terror module” busted in Faridabad, a day prior to the deadly blast.

Investigators believe the Delhi explosion could be linked to the same network, as early reports indicate similar explosive materials and operational methods were used.

Alongside the Faridabad arrests, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has also detained three individuals prior to the blast, including a doctor, for alleged involvement in a wider terror conspiracy involving chemical weapons and ricin-based explosives.

Investigators are exploring potential connections between these arrests and the Delhi blast.

Back in Kashmir, the families of those allegedly involved in the Faridabad module have denied any knowledge of their relatives’ involvement in terrorism.

Suspect Umar, believed to have died in the car explosion near Red Fort, belonged to a modest family from Koil village in Pulwama.

Relatives of another accused, Dr. Muzamil, also from Koil village, expressed disbelief at reports linking him to the terror module, insisting he had no history of radical involvement.

Intelligence agencies, however, have confirmed that Umar was the sole occupant of the vehicle that detonated near the Red Fort.

According to intelligence reports, the Faridabad-based white-collar module had been plotting to avenge the deaths of relatives of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) founder Masood Azhar, who were killed during Operation Sindoor.

Investigators suspect the Delhi blast was part of a broader retaliatory plot planned by the group.

With inputs from news agencies