INDIALEAD

Red Fort car blast: NIA court extends judicial custody of 9 accused till July 13

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) In the Red Fort blast case, a Special NIA Court here extended the judicial custody of nine accused till July 13 and decided to scrutinise on the same day a forensic report filed by the probe agency on the body parts of those killed in the incident, a lawyer said on Monday.

The Special NIA Court in Patiala House Court complex is also likely to consider the chargesheets filed against all accused on July 13.

The forensic report was filed by the NIA after a detailed analysis.

On June 27, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) chargesheeted three more accused, including an absconder, in connection with the November 10, 2025, car bomb explosion that killed 11 persons near the Red Fort.

In a supplementary chargesheet, the NIA named Zameer Ahmad Ahanger, Tufail Ahmad Bhat and Muzafar Ahmad @ Faraz @ Zafar, all from Jammu and Kashmir, as accused.

With the naming of three additional accused, the number of accused chargesheeted in the case rose to 13, including the prime accused Umer Un Nabi, who died in the exploding car.

Absconding accused Muzafar Ahmed, a paediatrician (MBBS, MD), has been identified as the elder brother of co-accused Adeel Ahmed Rather and a founding member of “AGuH Interim” – an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, said the NIA.

The NIA investigation found Muzafar to be one of the prime architects, along with co-accused Umer, Muzammil, Adeel, and Mufti Irfan, of the conspiracy that led to the deadly Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) blast.

One of the founding members of AGuH Interim, Muzafar had attended the secret Eidgah meeting at Srinagar in June 2022, during which the terror module AGuH Interim was established, the NIA’s probe revealed.

Muzafar was deeply involved in the manufacture, testing and safekeeping of TATP-based IEDs at a clandestine IED facility run by Umer and Muzammil at Al-Falah University, Faridabad.

A Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) has also been issued against Muzafar, and efforts are on to track and arrest him, the NIA earlier said in a statement.

As per the NIA investigation, Zameer, an overground Worker (OGW) of AGuH Interim, was actively in touch with handlers and acted as a courier for arms, ammunition, and cash for the terror module.

Tufail, a former OGW of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror organisation, served as the module’s arms supplier.

He had procured one AK-47, one Krinkov rifle, one pistol, magazines, and live ammunition through dead drops orchestrated by a handler and delivered them to the deceased main accused, Umer Un Nabi, for Rs 3 lakh.

In the supplementary chargesheet filed before the Special NIA Court, the arrested accused Zameer and Tufail have been charged under sections 13, 18, 20, 23, 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and sections 61(2), 147, 148 and 152 of the BNS.

Muzafar has been additionally charged under section 61(2) read with section 103(1), 109(1), 118(1) and 118(2) of the BNS, sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, and sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

The NIA established linkages between various accused through multi-disciplinary scientific investigation, including detailed forensic testing, geo-location mapping of conspiracy sites and granular financial-trail analysis.

–IANS

rch/dpb

Related Posts