Red Fort blast: NIA takes custody of three doctors, preacher; remanded to 10 days | VIDEO

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency on Thursday took custody of three doctors, Muzammil Ganaie, Adeel Rather, and Shaheena Saeed, and preacher Maulvi Irfan Ahmed Wagay, arrested earlier for their alleged roles in the November 10 car blast outside the Red Fort that killed 15 people.

Jammu and Kashmir police had initially detained the four, who were handed over to NIA officials in Srinagar following production orders from a Delhi court, an agency statement said.

All four are alleged to have played key roles in planning and executing the attack, according to investigators. With the latest arrests, the number of accused held in connection with the suspected terror plot rises to six.

The NIA previously arrested Amir Rashid Ali and Jasir Bilal Wani, also known as Danish. Officials said Dr Umar-un-Nabi, who drove the explosives-laden car, had purchased it under Ali’s name. Wani was held after Umar allegedly tried to recruit him as a suicide bomber for the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed group. Though Wani refused to kill himself, he reportedly agreed to support the module as an overground worker.

Investigators allege the module, led by the doctors, had been searching for a suicide bomber since last year, with Umar highlighted as the chief planner. Interrogation of Adeel Rather indicated Umar's insistence on deploying suicide attacks, which prompted police to detain Wani in south Kashmir.

During questioning, Wani told police he’d met the doctor-led group at a mosque in Kulgam last October. He abandoned plans to become a suicide bomber in April, citing economic hardship and religious beliefs.

Probes by J&K, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana police led authorities to Al Falah University in Faridabad, where 2,900 kg of explosives were seized. The case’s breakthrough followed the tracing of banned JeM’s threat posters in Srinagar last month, which led to the arrests of three men allegedly involved in posting them. Further interrogation pointed to preacher Maulvi Irfan as the supplier, unravelling the module’s operations.

The first arrests were made in Faridabad; subsequent detentions followed in the region and in Uttar Pradesh.

A Delhi court has sent the four newly-arrested accused to 10 days of NIA custody.

With inputs from PTI