Investigation into Red Fort Blast Deepens — Al-Falah University, Staff and New Arrests Under Scanner
Nearly three weeks after the blast outside Delhi’s historic Red Fort, the investigation has taken a dramatic turn toward Faridabad’s Al-Falah University, where three of the arrested suspects had been working.
Agencies are now piecing together the movements and contacts of the alleged bomber, Umar un Nabi, during the days leading up to the attack.
As part of this effort, forty-eight university staff members, including around thirty doctors, have been questioned to reconstruct Umar’s behaviour, communication patterns and possible collaborators.
Along with Umar, two other accused linked to the now-busted Jaish-e-Mohammed terror module — Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganai from Pahalgam and DDrShaheen Shahid from Lucknow — were also employed at the university.
The additional arrested members include Dr Drdeel Ahmed Rather, previously working at a private hospital in Saharanpur, and Kashmiri cleric Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay.
The net grew tighter when the National Investigation Agency arrested a ward-boy at the university, Soyab, who is believed to have provided logistical support to the Umar Pribeforee blast.
As suspicion deepens, the investigation has expanded well beyond university boundaries. Security agencies have directed private hospitals across Delhi to submit records of doctors who completed their MBBS degrees in Bangladesh, the UAE, China or Pakistan.
Officials say this move seeks to uncover a larger professional network that may hold clues to the Red Fort attack conspiracy.
According to a senior investigator, they suspect that Umar’s circle extended beyond Al-Falah University, although they caution that this remains an early-stage assessment.
A breakthrough emerged after Jammu and Kashmir Police discovered Umar’s mobile phone in a drain in Pulwama.
The recovered device provided crucial call-detail records, enabling investigators to identify individuals at the university with whom Umar was in regular contact.
The Delhi Police Special Cell, which is examining what it describes as a deeper conspiracy behind the blast, now has access to these records and has summoned multiple staff members whose names surfaced in the data.
Investigators are also reviewing CCTV footage gathered from the university campus while continuing to question employees both on-site and at agency offices.
Their statements describe Umar as an unpredictable and withdrawn figure, often rude and difficult to engage.
Some said he frequently ignored colleagues’ greetings and behaved mysteriously, alternating between complete aloofness and sudden friendliness.
Meanwhile, the authorities have sealed two rooms in Building No. 17 of the university’s boys’ hostel, previously occupied by Umar and Ganai.
The pair were also found to possess keys to a rented room located near the campus, where investigators had earlier unearthed several hundred kilograms of explosive-making materials.
The discovery confirmed fears that extended planning had occurred in proximity to the university.
The investigation has now widened into a multi-agency operation. The Enforcement Directorate has begun probing the finances and operations of the university itself, amid allegations of money laundering and administrative irregularities, after discovering a suspicious money trail connected to the case.
Forensic teams have also identified nearly 2,900 kilograms of explosive raw material from multiple hideouts linked to the accused, suggesting that the blast was part of a far larger operational plan.
With all seven primary suspects now in custody and investigators intensifying their efforts, the Red Fort blast case has evolved into one of the most complex terror plots uncovered in recent years.
The days ahead are expected to bring further questioning, more arrests and potentially the exposure of an underground network that operated quietly under the cover of professional respectability.
The probe continues to unfold at high intensity as India waits for answers.
