'Human bomber is essential': How Delhi blast mastermind Umar plotted attack; why his second recruit quit

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR: Investigators probing “white collar” terror module busted after the car bombing near the Red Fort have found that the mastermind, Dr Umar-un Nabi, had tried to line up a second suicide bomber but failed after the recruit withdrew at the last moment, citing family responsibilities during the apple harvest, officials said to news agency PTI on Sunday. Joint investigations by the Srinagar Police and the National Investigation Agency have revealed that Nabi, who was driving the explosive-laden vehicle that detonated outside the Red Fort on November 10, killing over 12 people, was simultaneously running a parallel terror module. Interrogations of arrested suspects exposed the recruitment methods used by the doctor-turned-terrorist, leading to the NIA arresting Shopian resident Yasir Ahmed Dar.

Officials said Nabi had successfully radicalised Dar as a potential suicide bomber, but during a meeting in August last year, Dar backed out, citing the “apple harvest season” and repair work at home. According to officials, Dar had been in contact with Nabi since 2023 and told investigators that Nabi’s professional standing as a medical doctor made his extremist messaging appear more persuasive and “trustworthy” to potential recruits.

The probe suggested that Nabi was not just an operative but a calculated recruiter who was actively setting up secondary, independent cells to ensure operations could continue even if primary modules were compromised. During the investigation, police also recovered a voice note from the phone of one accused in which he is heard pronouncing ‘Bayat’ (oath of allegiance) for Jihad. Dar, a school dropout, had earlier surfaced in investigations after one of his friends joined terror ranks.

During questioning, it emerged that he had been in touch with Nabi via Telegram and was repeatedly instructed to maintain peak physical fitness, officials said. Dar was the second prospective suicide bomber Nabi was attempting to induct, as he was described as a “hardcore radical” and Nabi believed a human bomber was essential for their operations. As the module began to unravel last year, Srinagar Police arrested another accused, Jasier alias Danish, from Qazigund in south Kashmir.

A bachelor in political science, he told interrogators he met members of the ‘Doctor module’ in October 2024 at a mosque in Kulgam, from where he was taken to rented accommodation at Al-Falah University in Faridabad. Jasir said that while other members wanted him to work as an over-ground worker (OGW) for the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed, Nabi subjected him to intense brainwashing over several months to turn him into a suicide bomber.

That plan collapsed in April last year when Jasir pulled out, citing his poor economic condition and his belief that suicide is forbidden in Islam. Officials said the suicide-bomber scouting angle, cracked by the Srinagar Police team led by Senior Superintendent of Police G V Sundeep Chakravarthy, has added a dangerous new layer to the investigation into the interstate JeM-linked network.Nabi, a 28-year-old doctor from Pulwama, had emerged as the most radicalised and key operative in a network spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Investigators believe he was planning a powerful vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) blast around the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary on December 6, targeting either a crowded area in the national capital or a site of religious significance before disappearing. According to interrogations, Nabi’s radicalisation accelerated after a 2021 trip to Turkiye with co-accused Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, during which they allegedly met JeM over-ground workers.

After returning, Nabi and Ganaie, who taught at Al-Falah University in Faridabad, began sourcing large quantities of chemicals from the open market, including 360 kg of ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sulphur, much of it stored near the university campus. The December plot collapsed when Srinagar Police arrested Ganaie and seized the explosives, triggering panic within the module and ultimately leading to the premature blast outside the Red Fort. The wider inter-state network came to light after JeM posters appeared on walls in Bunpora, Nowgam, on the outskirts of Srinagar on October 19, 2025. CCTV footage led to the arrest of three locals — Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid — all with prior stone-pelting cases. Their questioning led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic-turned-imam from Shopian, who allegedly supplied the posters and used his access to radicalise the doctors.(With agency inputs)