Pulwama Authorities Demolish House of Dr Umar Nabi, Accused in Delhi Blast

Security forces on Friday demolished the Pulwama home of Dr. Umar Nabi, the man linked to the explosive-laden car used in the Delhi blast, officials said.

The house, located in Koil village, was razed as part of the ongoing investigation into Monday evening’s explosion near the Red Fort, which killed at least 10 people and injured several others. Officials said Nabi was behind the wheel of the white Hyundai i20 at the time of the blast. His identity was confirmed after DNA samples recovered from the site matched those of his mother.

Nabi, an assistant professor at Al-Falah University in Faridabad, had earlier been linked by Delhi Police to Dr. Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie and Dr. Adeel Rather — both arrested in Jammu and Kashmir last week for allegedly stockpiling over 2,900 kg of ammonium nitrate, detonators, timers and assault rifles in Faridabad.

Investigators have named Nabi the prime accused, saying he acted “in panic and desperation” after a major crackdown on his network in Faridabad.

Delhi blast: Latest developments

Officials said on Thursday that another vehicle — a silver Maruti Brezza — has been seized as agencies work to trace the logistics and transport chain behind the attack. The Brezza (HR87 U 9988), registered on September 25 in the name of Dr. Shaheen Shahid, is the fourth car now under scrutiny.

The other three vehicles flagged by investigators include:
• the Hyundai i20 (HR26 CE 7674) allegedly driven by Nabi;
• a red Ford EcoSport recovered from a Faridabad village;
• and a Maruti Swift Dzire owned by Shahid and allegedly used by co-accused Dr. Muzammil Ganaie to move explosive materials.

Officials believe the module used these vehicles to transport firearms from Jammu & Kashmir to Delhi-NCR and to shift ammonium nitrate and other explosive components across Faridabad and the Capital. The wider network is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the J&K Police.

Delhi Police on Tuesday registered an FIR invoking provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act — Section 16 (punishment for terrorist acts) and Section 18 (conspiracy) — along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Explosive Substances Act. Relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) have also been applied, including 103(1) for murder, 109(1) for attempt to murder, and 61(2) for criminal conspiracy.