New Delhi, 17 Nov

The National Investigating Agency on Monday told a Delhi court that Amir Rashid Ali, a key accused in the Red Fort area car bomb blast case, allegedly arranged a safe house and provided logistical support to Dr Umar Nabi, the "suicide bomber" who was driving the explosive-laden car that detonated outside the Red Fort on 10 November, killing 15 people with two succuming to their injuries on Monday.

Ali, a resident of Pampore in South Kashmir, was brought to the court of Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna at the Patiala House courts complex amid tight security.

Mediapersons were barred from entering the court premises, which virtually turned the proceedings 'in-camera'. According to NIA's remand paper, Ali's custodial interrogation was required to uncover the entire conspiracy.

It said that Ali, the registered owner of the vehicle used in the incident, allegedly provided logistical support to Umar. The remand paper also claimed that Amir had arranged a safe house for Umar in the days leading up to the blast.

It said that the blast’s precision and intensity had been deliberately designed to instil fear in the minds of the public, besides causing alarm and panic.

Underscoring the seriousness of the alleged plot, it said that the act was intended to threaten and destabilise the nation’s sovereignty and unity.

The agency also told the court that Ali would be taken to Kashmir for further investigation.

The judge then allowed the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) plea seeking custodial interrogation of the accused for 10 days.

A heavy deployment of Delhi Police and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) was seen outside the court premises, besides personnel equipped with anti-riot gear on standby to maintain order.

Ali was likely the last person to have been in contact with Dr Umar Nabi.

The remand comes a day after the NIA announced Ali's arrest for allegedly conspiring with "suicide bomber" Nabi to execute the terror attack.

The NIA investigation showed that the vehicle used in the blast was registered in Ali's name, who had travelled to Delhi specifically to facilitate the purchase of the car.

The vehicle was subsequently used as a "Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED)" to carry out the attack. Nabi had known links with a "white-collar" terror module that was recently busted following the recovery of explosives, primarily from Faridabad in Haryana on November 10.

As reported by PTI earlier, Nabi, a 28-year-old doctor from Pulwama, emerged as the most radicalised and key operative in the network spanning Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Officials believe he was planning a powerful VBIED blast timed around the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary on 6 December.

The plot, however, fell apart when a meticulous investigation by Srinagar police resulted in the arrest of Dr Muzammil Ganaie from Al Falah University in Haryana's Faridabad and the seizure of a huge cache of explosives.

The breakthrough is believed to have triggered panic in Umar, ultimately ending in the blast outside the Red Fort that left 15 people dead.

The intricate interstate terror network was exposed after a small but significant incident of JeM posters appearing on the walls in Bunpora, Nowgam, on the outskirts of Srinagar, on 19 October.

Srinagar police registered a case and reviewed CCTV camera footage, leading to the arrest of three locals – Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid, all with prior stone-pelting cases against them.

Their interrogation led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic-turned-Imam from Shopian, who allegedly supplied the posters and used his access to radicalise the doctors.

So far, eight people have been arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in connection with this case.

The NIA will now interrogate Ali to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy and his role in the deadly terror plot.