Biswabrata Goswami
KRISHNAGAR, 16 NOV: A fresh Bengal link has surfaced in the investigation into the deadly car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) interrogating a Nadia resident lodged in Kolkata’s Presidency Jail for suspected ties to the terror module behind the attack.
Sabir Ahmed of Bara Naldaha under Palashipara police station limits in Nadia, currently incarcerated under the Anti-Narcotics Act, has been questioned multiple times inside the prison by central and state security agencies after investigators traced possible communication and financial links to the network responsible for the 10 November explosion that killed at least 12 people.
The dragnet widened further on Thursday night when the Special Task Force detained Sabir’s brother, Faisal Ahmed, for questioning. Investigators believe Sabir, long involved in the narcotics trade, may have been radicalised while in jail, and are examining whether drug money was diverted into terror financing channels.
Emerging intelligence has placed Sabir alongside two other jailed operatives from West Bengal — Tania Parvin of Baduria, lodged in Alipore Women’s Correctional Home, and Syed M. Idrish alias Munna, held in Dum Dum Central Jail, a resident of Sirsi in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district. All three were allegedly part of online radicalisation groups activated under instructions from Syeda Azhar, sister of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and head of the outfit’s women’s wing.
Sources said each of these groups operated under a “mentor” — Dr Shaheen Shahid, now arrested in connection with the Delhi blast case.
According to investigators, Tania, Idrish and Sabir frequently circulated extremist material, propagated anti-India narratives and attempted to recruit like-minded youths into their respective clusters. Idrish, who has emerged as a key financial operative, is suspected to have raised funds for jihadist activities and allegedly transferred nearly Rs 10 lakh across multiple bank accounts using money sourced from Sabir.
The probe has accelerated after agencies confirmed that the driver of the explosive-laden Hyundai i20 — Dr Umar Mohammad — had received Rs 20 lakh through illegal hawala networks. DNA analysis has verified that Umar was behind the wheel when the car exploded near a traffic signal on Netaji Subhash Marg, close to Red Fort Metro Station Gate No. 1.
Hours earlier, Faridabad Police had recovered 2,900 kg of ammonium nitrate and other explosive-grade materials from a site about 50 kilometres from Delhi — a haul suspected to be tied to the same module.
Investigators are now tracing the financial circuitry among Umar, Dr Muzammil Ganaie and a woman doctor, Dr Shaheen — the trio accused of operating a “white-collar terror module” with links to Jammu and Kashmir. Sources said Muzammil has admitted that the Rs 20 lakh was routed through a Jaish-e-Mohammed handler via hawala, and that disputes arose between Umar and Shaheen over the handling of funds.
Several hawala operators have been detained as agencies try to account for the money flow. Officials estimate that roughly Rs 3 lakh was spent on fertiliser chemicals, including ammonium nitrate, commonly used in improvised explosive devices in past attacks.
Teams from the NIA, Delhi Police’s Special Cell and other forensic units have completed multiple rounds of examinations at the blast site, collecting more than 40 samples for analysis.
With Bengal’s narcotics corridors, Kashmir-based handlers and trained medical professionals now converging in the same investigation, officials say the case has grown into a complex study of criminal syndicates fusing with radical networks — and the trail is widening with each interrogation.
