Police conduct search operation in Faridabad a day after recovery of huge cache of explosives

Faridabad, Nov 11 (PTI) An extensive combing and search operation was conducted in parts of Faridabad on Tuesday, a day after a huge amount of explosives, inflammable material and arms were recovered from two rented rooms of a Kashmiri doctor here.

Preliminary probe into the Monday evening blast near the Red Fort in Delhi that left 12 dead has suggested links to the alleged terror module uncovered in Faridabad.

The blast occurred hours after eight people, including three doctors, were arrested and 2,900 kg of explosives seized with the uncovering of a "white collar" terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Among those arrested on Monday were Dr Muzammil Ganaie and Dr Shaheen Sayeed, both connected to the Al Falah University in Faridabad, from where 360 kg of ammonium nitrate was recovered.

Police on Tuesday said a team is camping at the university, where the Kashmiri doctor, Muzammil Ganaie, lived for the past three-and-a-half years, and they are questioning the staff and doctors there.

The Al Falah University at Dhouj in Haryana's Faridabad district, around 45 km from Delhi, is a private institute recognised by the University Grants Commission.

Dr Umar Nabi, who was driving the car that exploded near the Red Fort, was also connected to Al Falah University. Nabi is believed to have died in the blast.

Officials said more than 800 police personnel searched the area around the university on Tuesday. Police personnel were accompanied by a bomb disposal squad during the searches.

"Our search operation is going on; police teams questioned more than 50 people today... the search operation will continue in different areas of the districts in the coming days too," Faridabad's Police Commissioner Satender Gupta said.

Sources said three people from Gurugram and one from Faridabad were taken by police for questioning in connection with the car that exploded near the Red Fort.

The Faridabad man was a car dealer and is said to be involved in the sale of the vehicle involved in the Monday evening's blast at the national capital, they claimed.

Police were also interrogating Dinesh since the first owner of the car that was used in the blast was his tenant between 2016 and 2020, according to his family.

Sources said the third man taken for questioning is Mohd Salman, who owned the car, but claimed to have sold it to someone else later.

They added that it was being investigated whether a room allotted to Dr Muzammil in the Al Falah University campus was used by him to hatch a terror plot.

Meanwhile, Haryana's director general of police, O P Singh, in a post on X on Tuesday, said, "The situation in the state is peaceful. Police and other agencies are on high alert." In another post, he nixed reports about fresh recovery of explosives in Faridabad, saying, "Diwali crackers have been seized in Faridabad. This is not the recovery of explosives." "The situation in Haryana is completely peaceful. The agencies are on high alert. Do not spread rumours, nor believe in them," he added.

In his earlier post, Singh had urged people to report any suspicious person or object by dialling the emergency helpline 112.

Investigation so far has revealed that a cleric who was detained by the police here had rented out his room to an autorickshaw driver who then gave it to Dr Muzammil Ganaie to keep "luggage" in the room.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Tuesday reiterated that anyone found guilty will not be spared.

About the recoveries made in Faridabad, he said, "The search operation is going on. Everything is being thoroughly checked, and investigations are on to uncover the entire link." Speaking to reporters in Panchkula, the chief minister, while referring to the blast in Delhi, said, "Those who harbour nefarious designs will never succeed." Dr Muzammil was arrested after the Jammu and Kashmir Police named him as a wanted person in a case involving putting up posters in Srinagar supporting the Jaish-e-Mohammed.

During the investigation, Muzammil's activities were found to be suspicious, following which a team from the Nowgam police station in Kashmir arrested him with the assistance of the Faridabad Crime Branch.

Police said that on Sunday, 358 kg of explosive material, suspected to be ammonium nitrate, a Krinkov assault rifle with three magazines, a pistol with two cartridges, 91 live rounds and two magazines were recovered from a house in Dhauj, located just 500 metres from the Al Falah University.

Moreover, 2,563 kg of explosives and inflammables were recovered from Dahar Colony in Fatehpur Taga village on Monday.

Meanwhile, as part of the heightened alert in Haryana, police have been checking vehicles at state borders, as well as all public transport, parking areas, hotels and dharamshalas since Monday evening, while vigil has been stepped up at crowded places and vital installations.

Security was also up at the railway stations, where checking had been intensified. PTI COR SUN VSD NSD NSD