How a potential suicide bomber quit Red Fort plot over apple harvest

New Delhi, Jan 18: Investigations into the “white-collar” terror module busted after the car bombing near the Red Fort have revealed a striking detail - a second potential suicide bomber recruited for the plot ultimately backed out, citing the urgency of helping his family during the apple harvest season.

During interrogation, investigators learned that masterminded of the attack, by Dr Umar-un Nabi, had successfully radicalised a Shopian resident, Yasir Ahmed Dar, as a potential suicide bomber.

However, during a crucial meeting in August last year, Dar withdrew at the last moment. He cited the apple harvest season, the time when his family needed his help in orchards, along with repairs required at his home, officials said.

Dar, a school dropout, had been in contact with Nabi since 2023. He admitted that Nabi’s status as a medical professional made his extremist ideology appear more credible and trustworthy.

Officials said Nabi repeatedly stressed the need for physical fitness and preparedness, communicating largely through Telegram.

The probe further revealed that Nabi was fixated on using human bombers, believing they were essential for the success of terror operations. Dar was the second such recruit Nabi tried to induct into the module.

Nabi, the 28-year-old doctor from Pulwama, drove the explosive-laden vehicle that detonated outside the historic monument on November 10, killing over a dozen people.

Probes by the Srinagar Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) uncovered that Nabi was simultaneously attempting to build parallel terror cells to ensure continuity of operations even if one module was exposed.

As investigations widened, another individual, Jasir alias Danish, was arrested from Qazigund in south Kashmir.

A bachelor’s degree holder in Political Science, Jasir told interrogators that he met members of the so-called “Doctor module” in October 2024 at a mosque in Kulgam.

From there, he was taken to rented accommodation at Al-Falah University in Faridabad.

While other members wanted Jasir to function as an over-ground worker (OGW) for the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed, he said Nabi intensely brainwashed him over several months to turn him into a suicide bomber.

That plan, too, collapsed in April last year when Jasir backed out, citing his poor economic condition and his belief that suicide is forbidden in Islam.

Investigators also recovered a voice note from one of the accused in which he was heard taking ‘Bayat’, an oath of allegiance for jihad.

The exposure of the suicide bomber scouting angle, cracked by Srinagar Police led by Senior Superintendent of Police Dr G V Sundeep Chakravarthy, added a dangerous new dimension to the case.

Officials believe Nabi was planning a powerful Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) attack, possibly timed around the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary on December 6. The target was allegedly to be a crowded location in the national capital or a site of religious significance, after which Nabi planned to disappear.

According to interrogations, Nabi’s radicalisation deepened after a 2021 trip to Turkiye with co-accused Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, during which they allegedly came in contact with JeM over-ground operatives.

After returning, both doctors who taught at Faridabad’s Al-Falah University began procuring large quantities of chemicals from the open market, including around 360 kg of ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sulphur. Much of this material was stored near the university campus.

The December plot unravelled when Srinagar Police arrested Ganaie and seized the explosives, triggering panic within the module. Officials said this ultimately led to a premature blast outside the Red Fort.

The intricate inter-state terror network came to light following what initially appeared to be a minor incident like the appearance of JeM posters on walls in Bunpora, Nowgam, on the outskirts of Srinagar on October 19, 2025.

A case was registered, CCTV footage reviewed, and three locals Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid, all with prior stone-pelting cases were arrested.

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.

Officials said the fact that one recruit walked away from a suicide mission to tend apple orchards underlined how close the module came to executing multiple attacks and how narrowly an even deadlier plot may have been avoided.

PTI