The Union government on Wednesday confirmed that the deadly explosion near the Red Fort in Delhi was a “heinous terror incident” carried out by “anti-national” forces. The attack, which occurred during rush hour on Monday evening, killed ten people and injured twenty-one others, prompting a massive multi-state investigation.

At 6.52pm on 10 November, a white Hyundai i20, bearing registration number HR26CE7674, exploded at a traffic signal on Netaji Subhash Marg near the Lal Quila Metro station.

The vehicle, previously sold several times and modified with a CNG tank, caught fire moments after halting in traffic. The resulting blast and blaze left at least ten people charred and over twenty seriously wounded.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security shortly after the confirmation of the terror angle. He also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to review the situation and direct coordinated action across agencies.

Investigators have traced the vehicle and its occupants to a suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)-linked module operating from Faridabad. The alleged ringleader has been identified as 35-year-old Dr Umar Un-Nabi, a medical practitioner from Pulwama who had been working at a Faridabad hospital. Authorities suspect that Nabi was driving the car at the time of the explosion, though it remains unclear whether he perished in the blast.

Police have zeroed in on another accomplice, Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie, also a Faridabad-based doctor, who rented accommodation believed to have been used to store explosives. Both men reportedly travelled to Turkey in 2022, raising questions about possible overseas connections to extremist networks.

Delhi Police’s Special Cell and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have widened the probe, coordinating operations in Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. The agencies have detained several suspects linked to the Al-Falah University in Faridabad, which has emerged as a common thread among the accused.

Among those under arrest are Dr Adeel Rather from Saharanpur, Dr Shaheen Shahid from Lucknow, and Ganaie from Faridabad. Police also apprehended Shahid’s brother, Parvez Saeed Ansari; Irfan Ahmad Waghay, a cleric from Shopian; and Mewat-based imam Hafeez Mohammad Ishtiyaq, from whose residence explosives were recovered.

Authorities claim the group had stockpiled nearly 2,900 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, detonators, and firearms in Faridabad, apparently intended for multiple strikes. Investigators believe the Delhi blast was a premature detonation, triggered as the group panicked in the face of an intensifying security crackdown.

NIA teams are reconstructing Nabi’s movements on the day of the explosion. CCTV and digital evidence reveal he entered Delhi from the Badarpur border around 8am on Monday, spending nearly ten hours in the city before the blast. He was captured by cameras without a mask at Connaught Place and Turkman Gate, confirming he drove the ill-fated i20.

Between 2.30pm and 6.30pm, Nabi was seen visiting a mosque on Asaf Ali Road and later parking the car in the Sunehri Masjid lot for over three hours. Investigators suspect he might have awaited instructions or an opportunity to detonate the device before deciding to proceed towards the Red Fort area.

An FIR registered by Delhi Police includes provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (Sections 16 and 18), as well as sections of the Explosive Substances Act (Sections 3 and 4). Provisions from the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita – including murder, attempt to murder, and criminal conspiracy – have also been invoked.

Forensic specialists from NIA and Delhi Police continue examining debris from the blast site. The agencies are focusing on identifying the explosive compound used within the CNG tank and determining whether remote triggering or timed detonation mechanisms were employed.

Relatives of the accused have expressed disbelief at their alleged involvement. Nabi’s cousin Waseem Ahangar described the revelations as “shocking”, while Amir Rashid Mir’s mother insisted her son, a plumber from Pulwama, “had nothing to do with terrorism” and demanded a fair investigation.

Meanwhile, security officials suggest the group had links to recent JeM propaganda activity observed in Nowgam, Kashmir, where posters praising the organisation appeared in October. The recovery of weapons and explosives in Faridabad is viewed as part of a larger plot likely coordinated with handlers across the border.

In an official statement, the government reiterated its “zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms” and pledged to bring the perpetrators and their associates to justice. Law enforcement agencies remain on high alert, with security tightened across major cities as the NIA continues to trace the broader network behind the Delhi attack.

Agencies