Police conducting search operation in Faridabad after recovery of huge cache of explosives

A day after 2,900 kg of explosives and inflammable material was recovered from two rented rooms of a Kashmiri doctor in Faridabad, an extensive combing and search operation was being conducted in parts of the district on Tuesday.

Preliminary probe into the blast near Delhi's Red Fort that left seven dead and 20 injured on Monday evening has also suggested links to the alleged terror module uncovered in Faridabad.

Police on Tuesday said a team is camping at the Al Falah University, where the Kashmiri doctor lived for the past three-and-a-half years, and are questioning staff and doctors at the varsity here, a senior police office said. Several police personnel are conducting search in the Dhauj police station area, he said.

Investigation so far revealed that a cleric here who was detained by police revealed that he had rented out his room to an autorickshaw driver who then gave it to Dr Muzammil for keeping "luggage" in the room.

Eight people, including the Kashmiri man and two fellow doctors were arrested for allegedly being part of a white collar terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, officials said. Two other doctors, Adeel and Shaheen, have also been arrested in connection to the case.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from two rooms rented by Muzammil Ganaie alias Musaib (35) in Faridabad. A native of Koil in J-K’s Pulwama, he was a doctor working at Al Falah University at Dhauj, around 45 km from Delhi.

The blast in Delhi occurred hours after the recovery of 2,563 kg of explosives and inflammables from Dahar Colony in Fatehpur Taga village here on Monday. Earlier, around 360 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate and a cache of arms and ammunition were recovered. The recoveries were made from the Kashmiri doctor's rented accommodation in Faridabad, bordering Delhi.

A high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, killing at least nine people and gutting several vehicles, officials said.

On Monday, Faridabad Police said in a statement that approximately 2,900 kg of inflammables and explosive material was recovered in a joint operation by Faridabad Police and Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Muzammil was arrested after the J-K Police named him as a wanted person in a case involving putting up posters supporting the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Srinagar. During the investigation, Muzammil's activities were found to be suspicious, following which a team from the Nowgam police station in Kashmir arrested Muzammil with the assistance of the Faridabad Crime Branch.

Police said that on Sunday, 358 kg of explosive material suspected to be ammonium nitrate, a Krinkov assault rifle with three magazines, a pistol with 2 cartridges, 91 live rounds and two magazines were recovered from the room of a house in Dhauj, located just 500 metres from the Al Falah University.

Among other articles, police had also seized timers, batteries, remote controls, electrical circuits, wires, and a metal seat from the room.