The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has uncovered that the primary accused in the Delhi Red Fort car blast case utilized a fabricated identity to acquire chemicals for manufacturing explosives. Official sources revealed on Tuesday that Dr. Umer Un Nabi, who perished in the blast while driving the explosives-laden vehicle, had extensively researched both offline and online resources pertaining to various chemicals. He reportedly established a makeshift laboratory within his apartment at Al Falah University in Faridabad to conduct experiments aimed at developing a prototype explosive material.
Information was available with The Chenab Times indicating that NIA sleuths obtained a delivery challan dated September 25, 2024, from a small trader based in Mumbai. This document was instrumental in unraveling the procurement process for the materials necessary for the explosives, as detailed in a recent chargesheet filed by the NIA.
The challan was issued against a customized mixed metal oxide (MMO)-coated titanium anode, a specialized electrode crucial for an electrolysis process that the accused required for their chemical experiments. According to statements made by the accused during interrogation by the NIA, this electrolysis process was conducted at Umer’s flat to produce chlorates and perchlorates from a common salt solution. This technique was reportedly learned by Umer through his extensive research.
Chlorates and perchlorates are recognized as explosive substances, commonly employed in the manufacturing of fireworks. The NIA investigation found that while Umer was the one who purchased the anode, the buyer’s name and mobile number listed on the challan belonged to another individual. Umer had created a fake identity using this mobile number under the name “Mr Rahul Bhat” on the IndiaMART commercial platform, where he listed his “product of interest as a fertiliser bag, acetone solvent, anode and chemicals, etc.”.
The Mumbai shop owner was contacted by Umer in August 2024, and a payment of Rs 25,000 was made through the digital payment platform PhonePe, according to the NIA chargesheet. The shopkeeper subsequently dispatched the anode via a courier company to a delivery address situated just outside Al Falah University, from where Umer collected the item. The NIA probe further revealed that Umer, still operating under the same fake identity, subsequently attempted to negotiate for ten additional anodes. However, this deal did not materialize due to the disruption caused by the busting of the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH) interim terror module, which is reportedly linked to the Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).
Investigating officials also discovered that Umer, along with another co-accused, Dr. Muzammil Shakeel, had traveled to Ahmedabad in Gujarat on April 12 of the previous year with the objective of procuring chemicals for the manufacture of explosives. Their activities in Ahmedabad included offering prayers at a nearby mosque before returning to Al Falah University the following day.
NIA officials have stated that the accused, including Umer, were found to be following radical jihadi literature to guide their experiments. Information extracted from their mobile devices during the investigation corroborated these findings. The agency has filed a comprehensive 7,500-page chargesheet on May 14 against 10 accused individuals in connection with the high-intensity vehicle-borne IED blast that occurred on November 10 of the previous year in the national capital, resulting in 11 fatalities and numerous injuries.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
