Police have started verifying, one by one, the people Umar Nabi – the man who drove a i20 car that exploded near the Red Fort on November 10 – contacted over the last few months based on the call data records of his two missing mobile phones.
With the Delhi Police Special Cell registering a case to probe the “deeper conspiracy” angle in the blast, sources in the police said officers are verifying every person whom Umar spoke to during this time.
According to sources, police suspect that Umar, along with the co-accused in the case, was planning strikes in the Capital as well as in other cities.
Police suspect that Umar may have motivated people who were in touch with him, either directly or indirectly. Co-accused Jasir Bilal Wani, who has been arrested, was allegedly brainwashed by Umar to become a suicide bomber. “However, he refused,” said a source.
Umar had been using two mobile phones, both of which he switched off after October 30, shortly after co-accused Muzammil Ahmad Ganai was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police on October 30 in Faridabad.
Police suspect he disposed of the phones soon after, as their locations were never detected near the Red Fort, said sources.
With the help of the call data records of the two missing mobile phones, police have prepared a list of suspects who might be co-conspirators in the case or had close associations with Umar, said sources.
Story continues below this ad
“The verification process is ongoing… Over 60 people, including doctors from Al Falah University and residents of Jammu and Kashmir, have been verified. Many people from Nuh are also in the list,” an officer said.
Meanwhile, sources in the police said that probe has revealed that Umar, Muzammil and Shaheen Shahid Ansari – all doctors employed by Al Falah Medical Research Foundation at the Al Falah University – used code words such as “D6”, “Biryani,” and “dawat” during their conversations.
“The probe has revealed that the accused were preparing to carry out a blast on December 6… It could have been a series of blasts, which is why they were planning to execute it on the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition,” a source said.
The source added that while the word “Biryani” meant explosives, “dawat” referred to the day of the attack. “The accused used these terms in their mobile phone and social media conversations… The probe agencies have interpreted phrases ‘Biryani taiyyar hai’ to mean ‘the bomb is ready’. Similarly, ‘dawat ke liye taiyyar raho’ meant ‘prepare for the operation’,” said the source.
Story continues below this ad
Moreover, the probe agencies suspect that Umar and the co-accused were attempting a Hamas-style attack, where the explosive was concealed in a shoe.
However, the agencies are yet to determine the exact type of IED used in the explosion near the Red Fort, said the source.
