Delhi blast probe reveals ‘white-collar terror network’ involving Kashmiri doctors: Police

The investigation into the deadly Delhi car blast — which tore through the calm near Red Fort, claiming 13 lives and injuring many — has taken a chilling turn, unmasking what officials describe as a “white-collar terror network” with roots deep in Jammu and Kashmir’s medical fraternity, say police sources.

According to sources, three Kashmiri doctors — once symbols of academic brilliance and professional promise — now stand accused of plotting one of the most sinister terror operations in recent years. Their alleged involvement has cast a grim shadow on the Valley, exposing how radicalisation has seeped even into the ranks of the educated elite.

At the centre of the storm is Dr. Mohammad Umar, a young physician from Koil village in Pulwama, who is believed to have driven the white Hyundai i20 that exploded near the Red Fort on Monday evening. The blast killed all three occupants of the vehicle. Once a meritorious student at Srinagar’s prestigious Government Medical College, Umar’s transformation from a promising doctor to a radicalised operative has stunned both neighbours and investigators.

Police sources said Umar’s two brothers and mother have been detained for questioning, while his father is reportedly mentally unwell. “He was brilliant and deeply religious from childhood — but later, something changed,” said a neighbour, recalling the quiet, studious boy who rarely mingled.

Another suspect, Dr. Muzammil, also from Koil village, has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the same network. Both men are said to have been in contact with Dr. Adil Ahmad Rather, a third Kashmiri doctor whose earlier arrest in October helped authorities unearth the larger terror module.

Dr. Adil, who served at Government Medical College in Anantnag, was apprehended after he was found distributing posters supporting the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). A raid on his locker yielded an AK-47 rifle, and under sustained interrogation, Adil reportedly revealed critical details that blew the lid off the network.

Acting on his leads, a joint team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Haryana Police uncovered a cache of weapons and explosives in Faridabad — including 290 kg of ammonium nitrate, timer devices, assault rifles, and live ammunition.

Investigators later arrested Dr. Shaheen Shahid from Lucknow, recovering another rifle from her car, as the probe widened across states.

Officials now believe that Umar, shaken by the arrest of his associates, may have carried out the Red Fort blast in panic — a desperate act meant to divert attention and strike fear at the heart of the capital.

Sources in the intelligence community say the module may have been plotting multiple coordinated strikes to avenge the deaths of Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Azhar Masood’s family members in Operation Sindoor, an anti-terror offensive earlier this year.

With every passing hour, investigators are piecing together more threads of the conspiracy — a deadly web that stretches far beyond Delhi.

As one senior official put it, “This was not a low-level terror cell. This was a network of educated minds weaponised by ideology — a chilling reminder that terrorism wears many faces, even that of a doctor.”

With IANS inputs