Delhi Police has detained three people, including two doctors from Haryana’s Al Falah University, in connection with the blast near the Red Fort, even as two separate FIRs were registered against the institution over alleged irregularities flagged by the UGC and NAAC, officials said on Saturday.
The detentions and fresh criminal cases come amid an escalating multi-agency probe into the Red Fort blast that claimed 13 lives and the activities of individuals linked to the university.
The Crime Branch has lodged two FIRs under charges of cheating and forgery following regulatory violations reported by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
The action was taken after both statutory bodies highlighted ”major irregularities” in the university’s functioning.
A police team also visited the Okhla office of the university on Saturday to seek details related to those under scanner.
The police also detained two doctors – Mohammad and Mustakim – from Al-Falah University, who were known to Dr Umar Nabi, the driver of the Hyundai i20 car that exploded near the Red Fort on Monday.
The detentions were made during coordinated raids in Dhauj, Nuh and adjoining areas late Friday by the Special Cell and the NIA, officials said.
Sources said Mohammad and Mustakim were allegedly in touch with Dr Muzammil Ganaie, who has been arrested in connection with the probe into an alleged ”white collar terror module”. Both were also close associates of Umar.
Initial questioning revealed that one of the doctors was in Delhi on the day of the blast to appear for an interview at AIIMS, they said.
Their statements are being verified to establish the extent of their association with Ganaie and their possible role in the wider conspiracy, officials added.
Another man, identified as Dinesh alias Dabbu, has also been detained for selling fertilisers without a licence.
It has emerged that the members of the terror module had pooled around Rs 26 lakh to buy explosive substances and spent Rs 3 lakh out of it to purchase NPK fertiliser, which is commonly used to make bombs.
It is being probed whether Dinesh sold the fertiliser to the suspects and if his activities extended beyond the illegal trade, officials said.
Police teams have also questioned a tea seller in Wazirpur Industrial Area, where Umar halted for 10-15 minutes before the explosion. The seller told reporters he remembered a masked man sitting briefly at the stall.
”The police asked if he had tea or stayed for long. We don’t notice every customer. They showed CCTV footage,” he said after being released.
Investigators have also sought visitor records from a mosque near Ramlila Maidan on Asaf Ali Road, where Umar was seen in CCTV footage hours before the blast.
The imam of the mosque in Faridabad, who is said to be close to Dr Muzammil, was also questioned by Delhi Police. Muzammil used to visit the mosque during the time when Tablighi Jamat used to come as well.
A detailed log has been prepared of every vehicle that entered the Sunehri Masjid parking zone during the three hours when the car remained there before the explosion, police sources said. The list includes vehicle numbers, timings and ownership details.
A Delhi Police team and a bomb detection squad are stationed at the parking area and are checking all vehicles that have remained there since the blast.
Cars present at the time of the explosion are being examined first. Once cleared, they are being returned to the owners after verification.
Investigators are showing Umar’s photograph to drivers and vehicle owners to verify whether he met or interacted with anyone while the car was parked.
Earlier, an FIR under criminal conspiracy sections had been registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell to investigate the larger plot behind the explosion.
The initial UAPA case has since been transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), officials said.
Investigators have also obtained CCTV footage from inside the Red Fort Metro station that captures the moments immediately before and after the explosion at the traffic signal outside.
The visuals show routine commuter activity when, abruptly, the station shakes violently at the exact moment the blast occurred. Objects rattle and passengers are visibly jolted as the tremor passes through the concourse.
Some commuters are seen instinctively rushing further inside the station, seeking safety as the magnitude of the blast becomes apparent.
One more CCTV has emerged from Faridabad, where Umar is seen taking out his phone from a small bag and asking someone to put his phone on charge.
”In view of the high alert, till now about 140 mosques, 1700 tenants, 40 fertiliser and seed shops, about 200 guesthouses/hotels/inns, about 100 second-hand car buyers/sellers and more than 500 people of Jammu and Kashmir have been checked,” said Yashpal Singh, spokesperson of Faridabad police.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) reopened two entry gates – number two and three — of the Red Fort Metro station nearly four days after they were shut as a precautionary measure following the explosion. ”The gates are now open for commuters,” the DMRC said in a post on X.
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