Red Fort blast: 'Umar Nabi had planned Babri Masjid anniversary attack, explosion was accidental'
Umar's plan fell apart with the arrest of Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie alias Musaib, who taught at Faridabad's Al Falah University and from whose room 360 kg of ammonium nitrate was found
- Nov 12, 2025,
- Updated Nov 12, 2025 7:01 PM IST
The man behind the deadly Red Fort blast, Dr. Umar Nabi, had originally intended to carry out a powerful attack on December 6, coinciding with the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary, officials told news agency PTI on Wednesday.
Nabi, a 28-year-old doctor from Pulwama in Kashmir, was driving the explosives-laden vehicle that exploded near the Red Fort on November 10, killing 12 people. His plan fell apart with the arrest of Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie alias Musaib, who taught at Faridabad's Al Falah University and from whose room 360 kg of ammonium nitrate was found. It is believed that Umar panicked, and the explosion was accidental, the officials said.
According to officials, the details of Nabi's planned terror attack came to light through the interrogation of eight individuals arrested for their involvement in an interstate Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror module based in Faridabad. This module, spanning Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, had been under investigation for months, and officials pieced together information from the arrested suspects, their families, and associates.
Nabi's involvement in the terror network was deep, and his radicalisation reportedly began after a trip to Turkiye in 2021 with Ganaie. During this trip, Nabi and Ganaie are believed to have met with JeM operatives, which played a key role in his eventual radicalisation. Following the trip, Nabi and Ganaie began accumulating explosives, including ammonium nitrate and potassium nitrate, which they stored in and around Al Falah University in Faridabad.
The officials further said that Umar informed the others about his December terror plan and began prepping for it by placing explosives in the Hyundai i20 he was driving on November 10. It is likely that he was assembling a vehicle-based improvised explosive device (VBIED) after taking lessons on its construction and detonation circuit from open sources available on the internet, officials said.
According to officials, Umar may have panicked on November 10 when a top Faridabad police officer appeared on television announcing that a terror module had been busted with the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives in Faridabad. The 2,900 kg included the 360 kg of inflammable material recovered from Ganaie's rented accommodation.
The probe found that Umar took refuge in a mosque in the walled city, where he stayed for three hours on Monday evening before driving out. A premature explosion took place. The VBIED was also incomplete, as shrapnel had yet to be assembled, the officials said. Of the eight people arrested, seven are from Kashmir.
On October 26, Umar travelled to Kashmir and spent some time with his friends and relatives before starting his return journey to Faridabad. During this trip, he told his close relatives and friends that he would not be available for the next three months, the officials said.
The statement was corroborated by many of his friends, relatives questioned, and other co-accused to the police, they said. It is most likely that he wanted to plant the VBIED and then go underground for some time.
(With inputs from PTI)
The man behind the deadly Red Fort blast, Dr. Umar Nabi, had originally intended to carry out a powerful attack on December 6, coinciding with the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary, officials told news agency PTI on Wednesday.
Nabi, a 28-year-old doctor from Pulwama in Kashmir, was driving the explosives-laden vehicle that exploded near the Red Fort on November 10, killing 12 people. His plan fell apart with the arrest of Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie alias Musaib, who taught at Faridabad's Al Falah University and from whose room 360 kg of ammonium nitrate was found. It is believed that Umar panicked, and the explosion was accidental, the officials said.
According to officials, the details of Nabi's planned terror attack came to light through the interrogation of eight individuals arrested for their involvement in an interstate Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror module based in Faridabad. This module, spanning Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, had been under investigation for months, and officials pieced together information from the arrested suspects, their families, and associates.
Nabi's involvement in the terror network was deep, and his radicalisation reportedly began after a trip to Turkiye in 2021 with Ganaie. During this trip, Nabi and Ganaie are believed to have met with JeM operatives, which played a key role in his eventual radicalisation. Following the trip, Nabi and Ganaie began accumulating explosives, including ammonium nitrate and potassium nitrate, which they stored in and around Al Falah University in Faridabad.
The officials further said that Umar informed the others about his December terror plan and began prepping for it by placing explosives in the Hyundai i20 he was driving on November 10. It is likely that he was assembling a vehicle-based improvised explosive device (VBIED) after taking lessons on its construction and detonation circuit from open sources available on the internet, officials said.
According to officials, Umar may have panicked on November 10 when a top Faridabad police officer appeared on television announcing that a terror module had been busted with the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives in Faridabad. The 2,900 kg included the 360 kg of inflammable material recovered from Ganaie's rented accommodation.
The probe found that Umar took refuge in a mosque in the walled city, where he stayed for three hours on Monday evening before driving out. A premature explosion took place. The VBIED was also incomplete, as shrapnel had yet to be assembled, the officials said. Of the eight people arrested, seven are from Kashmir.
On October 26, Umar travelled to Kashmir and spent some time with his friends and relatives before starting his return journey to Faridabad. During this trip, he told his close relatives and friends that he would not be available for the next three months, the officials said.
The statement was corroborated by many of his friends, relatives questioned, and other co-accused to the police, they said. It is most likely that he wanted to plant the VBIED and then go underground for some time.
(With inputs from PTI)