Xplorich
NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) investigation into the deadly Delhi Red Fort car blast uncovered how the key accused allegedly used fake identity and a makeshift laboratory in Faridabad to procure chemicals and experiment with explosive materials, official sources said on Tuesday.The agency recently filed a 7,500-page chargesheet against 10 accused in connection with the high-intensity vehicle-borne IED blast that rocked the national capital on November 10 last year, killing 11 people and injuring several others.According to the probe, the prime accused, Dr Umer Un Nabi, who was driving the explosives-laden car and died in the blast, had researched offline and online resources related to various chemicals. Umer used a fake identity under the name “Mr Rahul Bhat” on the IndiaMART commercial platform to procure materials required for the experiments. Under the account, he listed his “product of interest as a fertiliser bag, acetone solvent, anode and chemicals, etc”.Investigators, as cited by PTI, said he had also set up a makeshift laboratory at his flat in Al Falah University, Faridabad, where he carried out experiments aimed at manufacturing a prototype explosive material.Investigators said Umer contacted a Mumbai-based trader in August 2024 and paid Rs 25,000 through the digital payment platform PhonePe for a customised mixed metal oxide (MMO)-coated titanium anode, a specialised electrode used in the electrolysis process.During the investigation, NIA officials recovered a delivery challan dated September 25, 2024, from the trader, which helped them trace the supply chain used for procuring explosive-making materials.The challan showed that although Umer had purchased the anode, the buyer’s name and mobile number mentioned in the document belonged to someone else. The trader later dispatched the anode through a courier company to a location outside Al Falah University, from where Umer collected it, according to the chargesheet.According to revelations made during interrogation, the electrolysis process was conducted at Umer’s flat to produce chlorates and perchlorates from a common salt solution, a technique he had learnt through his research.Chlorates and perchlorates are explosive substances commonly used in fireworks.Using the same fake identity, Umer later negotiated for 10 more anodes, but the deal did not materialise after the alleged Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH) interim terror module linked to Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) was busted, the probe revealed.The investigation also found that Umer and co-accused Dr Muzammil Shakeel travelled to Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on April 12 last year to procure chemicals for manufacturing explosives. After offering prayers at a nearby mosque, they returned to Al Falah the following day.According to officials, the accused followed radical jihadi literature while conducting these experiments. The material was later recovered from their mobile devices during the investigation.
