Delhi car blast case: NIA arrests 8th accused alleged for harbouring deceased bomber

NEW DELHI: In another breakthrough in the deadly Delhi car blast case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested the eighth accused, who harboured the deceased bomber by providing him logistical support, the agency said.

The accused, identified as Dr Bilal Naseer Malla, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla, was nabbed by an NIA team from Delhi.

As per the anti-terror agency, the Malla is “the 8th accused to be arrested in the case RC-21/2025/NIA/DLI and he is found to be involved in the conspiracy behind the terrorist attack that killed 15 people and injured several others in the terror attack that took place in a moving Hyundai i20 car on November 10 near the Red Fort area.

“Bilal had knowingly harboured the deceased accused Umar Un Nabi by providing him logistical support. He is also accused of destruction of evidence related to the terrorist attack,” said the NIA in a statement.

In the case (RC-21/2025/NIA/DLI), the NIA has so far arrested seven accused who facilitated the suicide bomber Umar Un Nabi, who blew himself up in the moving Hyundai i20 car he was driving around 7 pm on November 10.

The NIA arrested the seventh accused, Soyab of Dhauj, Faridabad (Haryana), in connection with the case on November 25 on charges of allegedly sheltering Umar Un Nabi shortly before the terror act. Soyab told the NIA during his interrogation that he “not only harboured Umar but also extended logistical support to facilitate the terrorist’s movements ahead of the attack.”

On November 20, the agency arrested Shaheen Saeed along with Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganai of Pulwama (Jammu and Kashmir), Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather of Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir), and Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay of Shopian (Jammu and Kashmir). They were taken into custody by the NIA in Srinagar on production orders issued by the district sessions judge at Patiala House Court.

Earlier, the NIA arrested two other accused– Amir Rashid Ali, in whose name the car used in the blast was registered, and Jasir Bilal Wani alias Danish, who had provided technical aid to the terrorist involved in the deadly attack.

Last month, Shaheen was taken to Faridabad to recreate the plot of tthe error plan as a massive cache of explosives (nearly 2,900 kg) was seized in Faridabad shortly before the blast, and the Hyundai i20 car used in the explosion was traced to a local dealer in the same area.

During the course of the investigation in the case of the arrested accused so far, the NIA said the inputs yet received have strengthened the agency’s understanding of the operational network behind the bombing.

The NIA said it continues to track multiple leads and conduct searches across multiple states, in collaboration with local police forces, to identify additional suspects connected to the conspiracy.

Officials said efforts remain underway to fully expose and dismantle the network involved in planning and executing the deadly attack. The agency has so far confronted all seven accused.

The anti-terror agency, which was handed over the investigation by the Union Home Ministry soon after the attack, is working closely with various state police forces to track and arrest every member of the terrorist module involved in the carnage.

The NIA conducted a search operation on December 1 at eight locations in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in Uttar Pradesh and claimed to have recovered various digital devices and other incriminating materials during the searches conducted at the premises of several accused and suspects in the two states.

The NIA had earlier, on November 26 and 27, conducted extensive searches at the premises of the prime accused, Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganie and Dr Shaheen Saeed, in the Al Falah University complex and other places in Faridabad (Haryana). A huge quantity of cash, foreign currency, gold and other incriminating materials were seized during those searches, and the same are being minutely examined to unravel the conspiracy that culminated in the bombing.

So far, the NIA has learned that one of the accused, Amir, had come to Delhi to facilitate the purchase of the car, which was eventually used as a vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to trigger the blast.

NIA has forensically established the identity of the deceased driver of the vehicle-borne IED as Umar, a resident of Pulwama district and Assistant Professor in the General Medicine Department at Al Falah University at Faridabad.

Besides, the anti-terror agency has also seized another vehicle belonging to Nabi. The vehicle is being examined for evidence in the case, in which NIA has so far questioned 73 witnesses, including those injured in the blast that rocked the national capital.

Working in close coordination with Delhi Police, Jammu and Kashmir Police, Haryana Police, Uttar Pradesh Police and various sister agencies, the NIA is continuing its investigation across states. (ANI)