Six months after a car blast killed more than a dozen people near the Red Fort, the NIA on Thursday said it had filed a 7,500-page chargesheet against 10 accused and exposed a “jihadi plot” hatched by the banned Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind group, an offshoot of Al Qaeda.
According to a statement issued by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the accused have been charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
The huge chargesheet was filed before the appointed NIA court at Patiala House against Aamir Rashid Mir, Jasir Bilal Wani, Dr Muzammil Shakeel, Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather, Dr Shaheen Saeed, Mufti Irfan Ahmed Wajai, Suyab, Dr Bilal Naseer Malla and Yasir Ahmed Dar.
The statement said that the accused launched “Operation Heavenly India,” which aims to overthrow the Indian government and impose Sharia rule.
Srinagar Police had arrested the terrorist unit linked to the blast – dubbed the “Doctor” or “White Collar” unit due to the involvement of medical professionals – after a thorough investigation into posters of the terror group found on the outskirts of the city.
Also read: ‘JeM cover used in bid to revive banned terror group’: J&K Police’s big revelation in Red Fort blast probe
While the NIA statement said 11 people were killed in a high-intensity car bomb blast that rocked the national capital on November 10 last year, the death toll later rose to 15. Several people were injured in the blast, which also caused massive property damage.
The main perpetrator, Dr. Omar Oun Al-Nabi, who was driving the car loaded with explosives, was named in the second column of the indictment, and it was “suggested that the charges against him be dropped.” He was killed in the explosion, which is believed to have been caused by a state of panic after Faridabad police announced the arrest of Al Falah University doctors and the recovery of 300 kilograms of ammonium nitrate.
All the accused are linked to Ansar Ghazwat al-Hind, an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent. AQAP and all its affiliates were notified as terrorist organizations by the Ministry of Interior in June 2018.
The NIA statement said that a major “jihadi plot” had been uncovered through a detailed scientific and forensic investigation, and that the accused, some of whom were extremist medical professionals, were inspired by the ideology of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Government of National Accord to carry out the deadly attack.
It added that in a secret meeting in Srinagar in 2022, the accused reconstituted the terrorist group AGuH as a “temporary AGuH” after a failed “migration” to Afghanistan via Turkey.
Under the umbrella of the newly formed group, they launched “Operation Heavenly India” which aims to overthrow India’s democratically established government and impose Sharia rule, the statement said.
The NIA alleged that as part of this operation, the accused recruited new members, spread the violent “jihadi” ideology of AGuH, stockpiled weapons and ammunition, and manufactured explosives on a large scale using commercially available chemicals.
The agency said it found that the accused also manufactured and tested various types of explosive devices.
Also read: Delhi blast: Medical professionals unit initiated plan linked to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, says NIA
The anti-terrorism agency said the explosive material used in the explosion was triacetone triperoxide (TATP), which the accused secretly made after purchasing its constituent components and conducting experiments to improve the explosive mixture.
The statement said the chargesheet is based on an extensive investigation spread across Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and the Delhi-NCR, and includes detailed evidence in the form of 588 oral testimonies, more than 395 documents and more than 200 physical documents that have been seized.
She added that the NIA, which took over the case from Delhi Police, identified the deceased accused as Dr Omar Unnabi through DNA fingerprinting.
The evidence collected from the crime scene, as well as various locations identified by the accused in and around Al Falah University in Faridabad (Haryana) and in Jammu and Kashmir, underwent comprehensive forensic examination, audio analysis, etc. as part of the investigation.
The NIA investigation further showed that the accused were also involved in illegal procurement of banned weapons, including AK-47 rifle, Krennikov rifle, and locally made pistols containing live ammunition.
The NIA statement said that they had experimented with using missiles and explosive devices carried on drones with the aim of targeting security institutions in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India.
It also came to light during the investigation that the accused had procured laboratory equipment, including specialized items like MMO Anode (used for preparing TATP), electrical circuits, and switches from various offline and online sources as they had plans to expand their operations in other parts of the country.
