DNA confirms bomber was Dr Umar, but was Red Fort blast just phase one of a bigger plot?

DNA tests have reportedly confirmed that Dr Umar Mohammad was the man behind the wheel of the i20 that exploded near Delhi’s Red Fort, killing nine and injuring 20. Investigators now believe the blast may have been only a sliver of a far larger terror plot the doctor and his associates had been building for months.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the case after forensic teams matched Umar’s DNA 100% with samples taken from his mother and brother. Bones, teeth fragments and burnt clothing recovered from the demolished Hyundai i20 linked him conclusively to the driver’s seat when the blast ripped through one of Delhi’s busiest corridors at 6:52 pm Monday.

Umar, a senior doctor at Al Falah University in Faridabad, allegedly detonated the car in “panic,” reports said, after the arrest of his colleague Dr Muzamil Shakeel Ganai earlier that day. 

Police had seized 358 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate from Ganai’s rented home in Faridabad’s Dhauj village. The haul was part of what investigators now call an emerging “white-collar” terror ecosystem involving radicalised medical professionals.

Just hours before the Red Fort explosion, J&K Police uncovered nearly 3,000 kg of explosives from two residential buildings in Faridabad, arresting another doctor, Dr Mujammil Shakeel. The arrests, coming in quick succession, appear to have triggered Umar’s flight — and ultimately the deadly explosion.

As the layers of the module unraveled, Delhi and NCR were placed on high alert. Police issued an urgent lookout for a red Ford EcoSport believed to be owned by Umar’s associate, Umar Nabi. The SUV was later traced to a farmhouse in Haryana’s Khandawali village. Forensic and ballistic teams are currently examining the vehicle, which was frequently used by Ganai.

Investigators say Umar and Ganai — both from Koil in Pulwama and both employed at the Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences — had been in contact since 2018. Police sources describe them as “key members” of a module that had been gradually stockpiling explosives. “Dr Umar was the one who talked more about spectacular attacks,” a senior official said. While the group had not decided on a final target, officers believe they were exploring the possibility of “a series of blasts.”

Two more doctors have been arrested: Dr Adeel Majeed Rather of Qazigund and Dr Shaheen Shahid Ansari of Faridabad. Investigators have also detained a cleric, Imam Ishtiyaq of Mewat, who preached on the Al Falah campus and allegedly rented rooms to Ganai.

Police have recovered photos of Umar and Ganai near Red Fort from ten months ago, though officers say it is unclear whether the visit was reconnaissance.

With Umar confirmed as the bomber, the NIA is now racing to answer the central question: was this the plan — or was it merely the detonation of a terror plot that hadn’t yet peaked?