NIA arrests key ‘co-conspirator’ in Red fort blast; suspect worked on drones, rockets

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has nabbed another “active co-conspirator” linked to the deadly November 10 Delhi blast. The man has been identified as Jasir Bilal Wani, alias Danish, a 20-year-old resident of Qazigund in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

According to NIA, Danish allegedly provided “critical technical support” to the group, including “modifying drones” and “attempting to fabricate rockets. He is reportedly a Bachelor of Science student at Degree College Lawdora, whose expertise contributed to the module’s strike capability.

Danish, along with his uncle, Nazir Ahmad Wani, a physics lecturer, was initially detained by the Jammu & Kashmir Police for questioning and was later handed over to the NIA team in Srinagar. As per police reports, he lived next to Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather, another doctor arrested earlier for his role in the same module.

Meanwhile, Danish's father, Bilal Ahmad, succumbed to death after attempting self-immolation for not being able to meet him and his detained brother.

Investigations said that Nabi had allegedly brainwashed Wani to become a suicide bomber. However, he backed out, citing his family’s poor financial condition and that suicide is forbidden in their religion, said officials.

This becomes NIA’s second arrest in the case in two days. On Sunday, the agency nabbed Amir Rashid Ali, a Kashmiri plumber who owned the vehicle driven by Nabi.