NIA arrests seventh accused in Delhi Red Fort blast; terror module harbourer held

The NIA arrested Soyab, a Faridabad resident, for harbouring terrorist Umar Muhammad (Un Nabi) and providing logistical support ahead of the November 10 Red Fort car bombing. He is the seventh suspect in the case as investigations into the terror network continue.

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested a Faridabad resident for harbouring terrorist Dr Umar Muhammad also known as Un Nabi, immediately before the Delhi terror bomb blast.

The accused, identified as Soyab, a resident of Dhauj in Faridabad, Haryana, is the seventh person to be arrested in connection with the case. According to the NIA, he not only harboured Umar before the attack but also provided logistical support crucial to the execution of the November 10 car bombing near the Red Fort that killed several people and left many others injured.

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Prior to this arrest, the NIA had taken six of Umar’s close aides into custody as part of ongoing investigations under case number RC-21/2025/NIA/DLI.

The NIA stated that it is actively pursuing multiple leads related to the suicide bombing and has been conducting coordinated searches across several states with the assistance of local police forces. The agency said its objective is to identify and apprehend all members linked to the larger terror network responsible for the attack.

Meanwhile, ongoing investigations have revealed chilling details about terrorist Umar’s methods and preparations. According to interrogation inputs from arrested members of the terror module, Umar maintained what investigators describe as a “mobile workstation” — a large suitcase containing bomb-making tools, chemical compounds and containers. He carried it with him wherever he went.

Umar, a medical professional associated with Al-Falah University in Faridabad, reportedly conducted chemical tests in his room on campus before creating the final Improvised Explosive Device (IED). One of the arrested suspects, Dr. Muzamil Shakeel, also affiliated with the same university, confirmed to interrogators that Umar experimented with substances that were later used in the blast.

According to earlier reports published by NDTV and cited during questioning, Umar tested the chemical reactions in controlled quantities before assembling the final bomb components. Police later recovered bomb-making materials from his suitcase, corroborating these statements.

Investigators further said that Umar carried a half-completed IED inside the Hyundai i20 car used for the suicide bombing. He allegedly added acetone — commonly used as nail polish remover — along with powdered sugar and urea to complete the explosive mixture shortly before the attack.

Initially, the terror module wanted to take the explosives they had hidden in Haryana to Jammu and Kashmir, where Umar Un Nabi had planned something big, sources said. That plan did not work out, and the suicide bomber started bringing urea used in making the IED from Nuh-Mewat region, sources of NDTV said.

Umar Un Nabi called himself the ’emir’ of the terror module, Muzamil Shakeel said. The bomber knew nine languages and remained the most educated and intelligent person in the terror module, investigators said, quoting what Muzamil Shakeel told them.