Who was Umar Mohammad? The doctor-turned-bomber who drove Delhi into darkness

What pushed a 36-year-old doctor from Pulwama to sit inside a car packed with explosives and drive it into the heart of Delhi? Investigators now believe Dr Umar Mohammad, a medical professional turned terror suspect, may have triggered the Red Fort blast in panic, a desperate final act after his network collapsed around him.

Forensic teams and anti-terror units are piecing together the last hours of Umar Mohammad, a physician once employed at Al Falah Medical College in Faridabad, now accused of carrying out one of Delhi’s deadliest recent explosions.

Born in Pulwama in 1989, Umar was known locally as quiet and methodical. But behind that façade, investigators say, was a “white-collar terror ecosystem” that linked him to two other doctors -- Adeel Ahmad Rather and Mujammil Shakeel -- both arrested earlier in the week. The three, all trained professionals, are accused of forming a Jaish-e-Mohammed-backed cell that used academic and charitable fronts to move funds and materials for explosives.

When Adeel and Mujammil were captured in coordinated raids across Uttar Pradesh and Haryana -- along with 2,900 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate -- Umar vanished. Hours later, he was seen driving a white Hyundai i20 toward Delhi.

CCTV footage shows the car entering a parking zone near Red Fort at 3:19 p.m. on Monday and leaving just after 6:30 p.m. At 6:52 p.m., the car exploded near Gate 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station, killing nine and injuring 20. Eyewitnesses described a “fireball in traffic,” as 15 engines fought flames that leapt several metres high.

Police traced the i20 through a web of owners -- from Gurugram’s Mohd Salman to Faridabad’s Devender, to plumber Aamir Rashid Mir, to security guard Tariq Malik, before it finally reached Umar. Investigators now believe this chain masked the car’s true purpose: as a delivery system for a suicide bomb.

Sources say Umar may have panicked after his associates’ arrest and the seizure of the explosives cache. “He knew the network had been exposed,” one investigator said. “Either he was told to strike fast, or he acted out of fear.”

Authorities are also probing whether others — including Aamir Rashid and Tariq Malik, both detained in Jammu and Kashmir — helped set up the logistics. The National Investigation Agency is expected to take over the probe.