JeM handlers paid Rs 20 lakh to Hyundai i20 driver in Red Fort blast: Reports

New Delhi: The driver of the Hyundai i20 that exploded near the Red Fort metro station on November 10 received Rs 20 lakh through illegal financial channels, IANS reported, quoting sources on Sunday.

The white Hyundai i20 detonated near a traffic signal on Netaji Subhash Marg, close to Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort metro station, leaving at least 12 people dead and nearly two dozen injured. DNA tests confirmed that Dr Umar Mohammad was driving the car at the time of the blast.

The attack occurred hours after investigators in Faridabad, Haryana, seized 2,900 kg of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, from a location about 50 km from Delhi.

Security agencies are now probing the financial connections of Dr Umar, Dr Muzammil, and another woman doctor accused in the terror module case, Dr Shaheen.

According to sources, Muzammil told officials that the doctors received Rs 20 lakh, suspected to have come from a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) handler who delivered it to the doctors through hawala.

Sources added that there was a dispute between Umar and Shaheen over the money. Several hawala dealers have been detained for interrogation.

“Around Rs 3 lakh was spent on purchasing fertilisers,” sources said.

During raids at multiple Faridabad locations linked to the terror network, officials recovered large quantities of ammonium nitrate, a fertiliser and key raw material used in explosives, which has been involved in terrorist attacks and major accidents previously.

The Delhi explosion is being described as a “white-collar terror module,” involving several trained medical professionals with alleged links to Jammu and Kashmir.

A police officer said, “Teams from the Special Cell, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other units have completed multiple rounds of examination at the scene, collecting over 40 samples as part of the probe.” IANS