Red Fort Blast Crackdown: NIA Arrests Key Kashmir Conspirator

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New arrest exposes deeper terror network behind the Red Fort bombing that killed 13; NIA races to map the multi-state conspiracy and trace every link.

By TRH News Desk

New Delhi, November 16, 2025 — In a significant breakthrough in the Red Fort bomb blast investigation, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday announced the arrest of a Kashmir-based associate who allegedly helped prime accused Dr Umar Un Nabi execute one of the most shocking terror attacks in the national capital in recent years.

The blast at the historic Red Fort on November 10 had claimed 13 lives, injured over 20 people, and triggered a nationwide terror alert.

According to the NIA, the arrested suspect, Amir Rashid Ali, is a resident of Samboora, Pampore in Jammu and Kashmir. Investigators say Ali conspired directly with suicide bomber Umar Un Nabi and played a key logistical role, especially in arranging the Hyundai i20 car used as a vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

The NIA said the car used in the attack was registered in Ali’s name. He had allegedly travelled to Delhi to facilitate its purchase and help prepare it for the blast operation.

The central probe agency, which took over the case from the Delhi Police shortly after the attack, said it has forensically confirmed the identity of the deceased driver who detonated the explosive-laden vehicle:
Umar Un Nabi, a Pulwama resident and assistant professor in the General Medicine Department at Al Falah University, Faridabad.

In addition to Ali’s arrest, the NIA has also seized another vehicle belonging to Nabi. The car is now being subjected to detailed forensic analysis. The agency has already examined 73 witnesses, including survivors of the blast, as the probe expands across Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.

Investigators said the NIA is working closely with the Delhi Police, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Haryana Police, Uttar Pradesh Police and several intelligence agencies to unravel the full network behind the attack—including potential financiers, handlers and logistical facilitators.

“The investigation continues to follow multiple leads to expose the larger conspiracy and identify every individual involved,” the NIA said in a media statement on Sunday.

The November 10 bombing shook the national security establishment due to both its target and method. A vehicle packed allegedly with high-grade explosives exploded near the Red Fort, triggering a massive blast that ripped through bystanders and security personnel.

The attack was unprecedented for two reasons: Use of a suicide bomber in a high-profile heritage zone, and deployment of a vehicle-borne IED, a tactic rarely witnessed in the capital.

The blast prompted the immediate sealing of central Delhi, a rapid counter-terror sweep across multiple states, and the eventual identification of a Pulwama-based academic, Umar Un Nabi, as the suicide bomber. His unusual profile—a university faculty member with no known criminal record—compounded concerns about radicalisation pipelines in the region.