i20 driver behind Red Fort blast received ₹20 lakh via illegal channels: Probe
Investigators probing the Red Fort parking-lot blast, which has claimed 13 lives so far, have found that the driver of the explosive-laden Hyundai i20 received ₹20 lakh through illegal hawala networks, NDTV reported, quoting sources.
The accused, identified as Umar Mohammad alias Umar Nabi, is suspected of using this money to procure large amounts of fertilizers in cash from markets in Haryana’s Nuh district, said reports.
Multiple hawala operators have now been detained for questioning.
The explosion took place on Monday evening when a white Hyundai i20 blew up in a parking area near the Red Fort, injuring 20 people and damaging several vehicles.
Eyewitnesses reported that panic gripped the area as people rushed to assist the wounded.
The blast came just hours after eight people, including three doctors, were arrested and 2,900 kg of explosives seized in the unravelling of a “white-collar” terror network linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, stretching across Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The white Hyundai i20 that exploded on Monday evening had been parked for nearly three hours in a lot near the Red Fort, and CCTV footage from the Red Fort Metro station has helped investigators track moments immediately before and after the blast.
Police teams have created a detailed entry log of all cars that entered the parking area that day, and are showing Mohammad’s photograph to drivers to establish whether he met anyone on-site.
Two other former doctors associated with Al Falah University, Muzammil Ganaie and Shaheen Sayeed, have also been arrested, and police say 360 kg of ammonium nitrate was found on the campus.
The university is under separate scrutiny, with the crime branch filing two FIRs for cheating and forgery after the UGC and NAAC flagged major regulatory violations.
Investigators are also examining the suspects’ use of an encrypted Swiss-based messaging app through which maps and operational plans were allegedly exchanged.
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