Red Fort blast was a suicide bombing, says NIA; arrest confirms pre-planned attack

New Delhi: In a major revelation, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has for the first time formally described the Red Fort car explosion on November 10 as a suicide bombing, marking a sharp departure from the earlier assumption of an accidental blast. 

The probe has uncovered a planned terror operation involving a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) that killed 13 people near one of Delhi’s most high-security zones.

The development comes alongside the arrest of Amir Rashid Ali, a resident of Samboora in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, who the NIA says played a critical role in executing the conspiracy. 

Ali was apprehended in Delhi after investigators established his involvement in procuring the vehicle used in the bombing.

According to the NIA, Ali worked in coordination with Dr Umar Un Nabi, now confirmed to be the deceased individual behind the wheel when the car exploded. 

Dr Umar, who held a teaching position as an assistant professor of general medicine at Al Falah University in Faridabad, has now been officially identified as the suicide bomber in the case.

This is the first time the federal anti-terror agency has used the term “suicide bomber” to describe Umar Un Nabi, underscoring that the car explosion was not accidental or triggered remotely, but the result of a deliberate suicide mission. 

The NIA also referred to the vehicle as a “vehicle-borne IED,” a designation that places the attack squarely within the global framework of car bombings typically associated with organised terror outfits.

The explosive-laden car, registered in Ali’s name, detonated near the Red Fort in the early hours of November 10, just ahead of the second phase of polling in Bihar. 

The blast not only killed Dr Umar instantly but also claimed 12 other lives and injured several more.

So far, the NIA has examined at least 73 witnesses, including survivors and first responders, and has seized a second vehicle linked to Umar as part of its widening probe. 

Forensic analysis and inter-agency cooperation have been key to confirming the suicide bombing angle and unraveling the support network behind it.

The investigation is ongoing in collaboration with the Delhi Police, as well as police forces from Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. Officials said multiple leads are being pursued to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy and determine if any larger network, local or transnational, was involved.