The death toll in the car explosion near Red Fort in New Delhi earlier this week rose to 13 after another injured person succumbed to his injuries at the LNJP Hospital in the capital city, an official said.
According to Delhi Police, the deceased has been identified as Bilal, who passed away on Thursday morning. His post-mortem will be conducted later in the day, officials said.
The total number of fatalities in the high-intensity explosion in a slow-moving car on November 10 has climbed to 13, while several others remain under treatment.
Meanwhile, multiple security agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) are probing the deadly car blast, which India has termed as a heinous terror act.
Investigators are now on the lookout for a third car believed to be linked to the blast, police sources said on Thursday. Besides the white Hyundai i20 that exploded outside the Red Fort on Monday evening, the police later traced a second vehicle – a red Ford EcoSport – to Faridabad, which was used to recce the area. Faridabad Police also rounded up a person who allegedly parked the car in the village and handed him over to Delhi Police, officials said.
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However, latest developments have the authorities searching for a third car, suspected to be a Maruti Brezza, which remains untraced.
“The missing third car is suspected to have been used by the accused for reconnaissance or escape. Multiple teams are looking for the third car,” said an official source.
The searches are being carried out in Delhi-NCR and adjoining states to locate the Maruti Brezza, he added.
So far, agencies have determined that the four doctors arrested in connection with the “white-collar terror module” had raised more than ₹26 lakh to procure materials used in the deadly blast, an official said.
The four suspects – including Dr. Muzammil Ganaie, Dr. Adeel Ahmad Rather, Dr. Shaheen Sayeed and Dr. Umar Nabi – had pooled in the amount in cash, which was handed over to Dr. Umar, the driver of the car that exploded, for safekeeping and operational use, they said. Investigators now believe the fund was linked to a larger terror conspiracy.
Dr. Umar hailed from Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama, and was an assistant professor at Al-Falah University in Haryana’s Faridabad.
According to the investigators, the group allegedly used the pooled money to purchase around 26 quintals of NPK fertilizer, worth approximately ₹3 lakh, from suppliers in Gurugram, Nuh and nearby towns.
The fertiliser, when mixed with other chemicals, is commonly used to manufacture Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), officials shared.
It was, in fact, the group’s procurement of such a large quantity of the fertiliser that became a key lead in the ongoing investigation.
The financial transactions and delivery records are being verified as the police and search agencies trace the missing links and connect the dots while state-wide searches continue.
In another development, it has come to the fore that Dr. Umar and Dr. Muzammil had a disagreement over the handling of funds in the days leading up to the explosion. The investigators are also ascertaining whether this dispute affected the group’s plans or the timing of the attack.
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