NIA has arrested the ninth accused in the Delhi Red Fort blast case. Accused Yasir Ahmad Dar was produced before the Patiala House Court on Thursday. The
court has sent him to NIA custody till December 26. Yasir Ahmad Dar, a resident of Shopian, Srinagar, was nabbed from Delhi, and placed under arrest under relevant provisions of the UAPA Act and BNS 2023 in the case. NIA investigations reveal Yasir was an active participant in the conspiracy, having sworn allegiance and taken an oath for carrying out "self-sacrificial operations". This comes a week after the NIA arrested another individual in connection with the case. Dr. Bilal Naseer Malla of Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir became the 8th accused to be arrested in the case. He was nabbed by an NIA team from Delhi. According to the NIA, Bilal had harboured the Delhi blast mastermind Dr Umar Un Nabi by knowingly providing him logistical support. He has also been accused of destruction of evidence. On November 10, a powerful bomb exploded outside Delhi's iconic Red Fort, killing 13 people, and injuring over 30 others. Dr Umar was said to be driving the vehicle. The car was laden with explosives, including ammonium nitrate, and occurred near Chandni Chowk and Lal Quila Metro Station. Investigators later established that Dr Umar, a doctor from Pulwama, was employed at Al-Falah University in Faridabad. Officials said he had suspected links to individuals arrested during earlier police raids in the city that led to the seizure of over 2,900 kg of explosives. DNA tests conducted on human remains recovered from the car subsequently confirmed Umar as one of its occupants at the time of the explosion. The NIA has alleged that evidence gathered during the probe points to Umar being part of a wider terror network involving multiple doctors based in Faridabad and Kashmir, with connections extending to foreign handlers.
