A Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed handler, identified by the alias ‘Hanzulla’, allegedly sent bomb-making tutorial videos to Dr Muzamil Shakeel — one of the key accused in the deadly blast near Delhi’s Red Fort that killed 15 people, said top sources.
As per reports, the initial findings suggest that ‘Hanzulla’ is a pseudonym, and agencies are actively tracing the individual’s real identity.
Investigators say that Jaish posters that appeared in Jammu and Kashmir’s Nowgam in October carried the name “Commander Hanzulla bhai”, raising early red flags and helping establish the terror link.
How the Terror Module Was Formed
Sources reveal that Maulvi Irfan Ahmed, a cleric from Shopian in Jammu & Kashmir, acted as the bridge between the Pakistan-based handler and the Indian operatives. Ahmed is believed to have radicalised the doctors and stitched together what officials describe as a “white-collar terror module.”
His first recruit was Dr Muzamil Shakeel, a doctor at Faridabad’s Al-Falah University whose medical licence has since been cancelled. Shakeel then roped in three other doctors — Muzaffar Ahmad, Adeel Ahmad Rather, and Shaheen Saeed — after meeting them at the university.
Shakeel is accused not only of transporting explosive materials but also of handing over the white Hyundai i20 later used in the attack to Umar Mohammad alias Umar-un-Nabi, the suicide bomber. A DNA analysis has confirmed Umar’s identity.
Months of Planning and a Cache of Explosives
The module, which investigators strongly suspect is linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, had reportedly been planning the attack for months. Sources say the group was preparing nearly 200 powerful IEDs intended for high-profile locations across Delhi, Gurugram, and Faridabad.
Beyond the car used in the Red Fort blast, the group had obtained two additional vehicles from Delhi for future attacks.
To evade detection, the doctors allegedly used Telegram for communication, employing code words like “biryani” for explosives and “daawat” for a planned attack.
The blast occurred on the same day that 2,900 kg of explosives were recovered from Haryana’s Faridabad, just 50 km from Delhi. Officials believe Umar may have panicked and prematurely triggered the explosion after Shakeel and Rather were arrested and the explosives seized.
Al-Falah University Under the Scanner
As the investigation widened, Al-Falah University in Faridabad emerged at the centre of both terror and money-laundering probes. The university’s founder, Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, was arrested recently by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
This came after the Delhi Police Crime Branch filed two FIRs against the university over allegations of cheating and forging accreditation documents.
More than 25 locations linked to the varsity — including its Okhla headquarters — were raided, resulting in the seizure of over Rs 48 lakh in cash, several digital devices, and important documents.
In response to the mounting allegations, the Faridabad Police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the university’s activities in detail.
Earlier on Tuesday, in the first clear confirmation about the timing of the chilling video recorded by Delhi suicide bomber Dr Umar Mohammad, also known as Umar-un-Nabi.
Sources told NDTV that the clip was discovered on a phone he had left with his brother during a visit to their home in Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir, at least a week before the blast.
According to sources, about a week before the attack, Nabi had travelled to Pulwama to visit his family. Before returning to Faridabad, where he worked as an assistant professor of General Medicine at Al-Falah University, he handed one of his two phones to his brother.
Soon after, the brother learned of a series of arrests involving Nabi’s colleagues.Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather was detained on November 7 for allegedly putting up posters linked to a terror outfit in Srinagar.Dr Muzammil Shakeel was arrested two days later in connection with an explosives seizure in Faridabad.
A day before the bombing, he also heard of Dr Shaheen Saeed’s arrest.Realising these individuals were close to his brother and hearing rumours that police were searching for Nabi as well, the brother panicked.
He disposed of the phone in a pond near their home. When investigators attempted to trace Nabi’s two phones, they found both switched off—one last located in Delhi, the other in Pulwama.