New Delhi/Srinagar, Jan 25: An Interpol Red Corner notice may soon be issued against Dr Muzaffar Rather, an accused in the white-collar terror module, after his name emerged as a co-conspirator who provided critical logistical support and funding from Afghan soil for the devastating November 10 blast near Delhi’s Red Fort, officials said on Sunday.
Rather, a paediatrician by profession and a resident of South Kashmir, has already been declared as a proclaimed offender by a special NIA court.
The Interpol notice for Rather, who provided help in logistics, funding, communication and planning to Dr Umar-un-Nabi, the driver of the explosive-laden car that detonated outside the Red Fort killing over a dozen people, is in the process, they said.
The officials alleged that Rather has emerged as a primary co-conspirator who allegedly orchestrated the attack from abroad after fleeing India.
Investigators have traced a trail of logistics, encrypted communications and radicalisation efforts that lead directly to safe havens in Afghanistan, where Rather is currently suspected to be hiding, they said.
The officials said that Umar carried out the suicide attack with support from Rather and Afghanistan-based handlers, who provided logistics, communication, funding, and planning.
The officials alleged that Rather played a key role, particularly in liaison and funding.
They said Rather remained in continuous contact with the terrorists and facilitated their communication with Afghanistan-based handlers for information related to bomb-making and operational tactics.
Rather left India in mid-August last year, shortly before the Delhi blast, and he first travelled to Dubai and subsequently crossed into Afghanistan, where he is currently hiding.
The officials said the interrogation of other arrested accused in the white collar terror module showed that Rather allegedly assisted in raising funds for the terror module and contributed approximately Rs 6 lakh towards the financial pool of the terror plot.
In 2021, Rather had travelled to Turkey along with Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Umar and the journey was primarily aimed at establishing contact with external handlers or as a transit attempt towards Afghanistan.
Although they did not enter Afghanistan at that time, the trip is considered part of their radicalisation and preparatory network activities, the officials said.
After the trip, Rather, Umar and Ganaie, who taught at Faridabad’s Al Falah University, began accumulating vast quantities of chemicals from the open market, including 360 kg of ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sulphur, much of which was stored near the university campus.
The terror plot fell apart when Srinagar police’s meticulous investigation led to Ganaie’s arrest and the seizure of the explosives, which possibly caused Umar to panic and led to the “premature” blast outside the Red Fort.
The intricate inter-state terror network was exposed after a small but significant incident of the appearance of JeM posters on walls in Bunpora, Nowgam, on the outskirts of Srinagar on October 19 last year.
Srinagar police registered a case and reviewed CCTV 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.
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.
The trail led the investigators to the Al Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana, where Ganaie and Dr Shaheen Sayeed were arrested, and 2,900 kg of explosive material was seized in November.–(PTI)
