New Delhi: The probe into the deadly Red Fort parking-lot blast has uncovered a crucial financial link: investigators say the driver of the explosive-laden Hyundai i20 allegedly received ₹20 lakh via illegal hawala channels, a key part of the network now under intense scrutiny.
The accused, Umar Mohammad alias Umar Nabi, is suspected of using the cash to buy large quantities of fertilisers from markets in Haryana’s Nuh district — materials believed to have been used to assemble the improvised explosive device. Multiple hawala operators have been detained as agencies race to trace the money trail and identify the masterminds.
The explosion, which occurred on Monday evening, ripped through the parking area near the Red Fort Metro station, killing 13 people and injuring over 20. The white Hyundai i20 had been parked for nearly three hours before it suddenly blew up, sending crowds into panic as people rushed to rescue the wounded and move damaged vehicles out of harm’s way.
CCTV footage from the Red Fort complex and nearby toll plazas has given investigators a minute-by-minute map of the car’s movements before the blast. Police teams have also created a detailed entry log of all vehicles that entered the parking zone that day and are showing Umar’s photograph to drivers to determine whether he met anyone on-site.
The blast came just hours after agencies arrested eight suspects — including three doctors — and seized nearly 2,900 kg of explosives in what officials describe as a “white-collar” terror network stretching across Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Two former doctors linked to Faridabad’s Al Falah University, Muzammil Ganaie and Shaheen Sayeed, have also been arrested, with investigators recovering 360 kg of ammonium nitrate from the campus.
The university is now facing a separate crackdown after the UGC and NAAC flagged major regulatory violations. The crime branch has registered two FIRs for alleged cheating and forgery.
Investigators are also analysing an encrypted Swiss-based messaging application used by the suspects to exchange maps, operational plans and movement instructions — a key digital trail that could reveal the hierarchy behind the operation.
With the funding trail, explosive purchases and digital communication links now under scrutiny, officials say the case is rapidly expanding into a multi-state terror-finance investigation that may expose one of the most sophisticated covert networks uncovered in recent years.
