Red Fort blast case: Ninth accused sent to NIA custody till Dec 26

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) A Delhi court on Thursday remanded Yasir Ahmad Dar, the ninth accused arrested in a case related to the Red Fort blast, to NIA custody till December 26.

Special Judge Prashant Sharma allowed the plea of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seeking Dar's custodial interrogation.

The accused was produced in the Patiala House District Court amid heavy security around 2.30 pm.

Media persons were barred from covering the proceedings.

Earlier in the day, the NIA arrested Dar, a Jammu and Kashmir resident and allegedly a close associate of suicide bomber Umar-un-Nabi.

Dar allegedly played an active role in the conspiracy behind the blast that claimed 15 lives and left many others injured on November 10, the NIA said.

An active participant in the conspiracy, Dar had allegedly taken an oath to carry out self-sacrificial operations, the agency said.

It said Dar was in close contact with the other accused persons in the case, including Umar-un-Nabi and Mufti Irfan.

The NIA has already arrested eight people, including four doctors — Dr Muzammil Ganaie, Dr Adeel Rather, Dr Shaheen Sayeed and Dr Bilal Naseer Malla — and religious preacher Maulvi Irfan.

Two others, Amir Rashid Ali and Jasir Bilal Wani alias Danish, have also been arrested.

Ali allegedly purchased the car in his name, which was later loaded with explosives including ammonium nitrate and detonated near the Red Fort.

On November 26, the agency also arrested Soyab, a resident of Dhauj in Faridabad, for allegedly providing logistical support to Umar-un-Nabi before the blast.

Umar-un-Nabi was driving the explosive-laden i20 car that detonated outside the Red Fort on November 10. PTI SKM MNR SKM KSS KSS