The Delhi Police have seized a red Ford EcoSport car suspected to be linked to the Red Fort blast that killed 12 people, after finding it abandoned in Khandawali village in Haryana’s Faridabad.
The vehicle, registration number DL 10 CK 0458, was registered in the name of Umar Nabi, the 28-year-old doctor from Pulwama who was driving the explosives-laden Hyundai i20 that went off near the Red Fort on 10 November.
In this image received on Nov. 12, 2025, a red Ford EcoSport car, suspected to be linked to the Delhi Red Fort blast case, after being seized from Khandawali, in Faridabad district, Haryana. PTI picture
Nabi, believed to have died in the explosion, has emerged as a key figure in a suspected terror network spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Investigators suspect the Ford EcoSport, bought using forged documents, was used for reconnaissance before the blast.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Delhi Police had issued an alert across all police stations, posts and border checkpoints in the national capital to trace the vehicle.
In the evening, a police team rushed to New Seelampur in northeast Delhi after learning that the car was registered at an address there.
‘The address mentioned in the car’s registration papers led the police to New Seelampur, where they questioned residents and verified documents,’ a police source said.
At the address, Imam Mohammad Tasawwur, who runs a madrasa, said he had never noticed any suspicious activity in the area. ‘The police have taken my phone for investigation. We are extending full cooperation and want those behind the incident to be arrested,’ he told PTI.
Turkiye connection
Investigators on Wednesday found a Turkiye link to the Red Fort blast.
According to officials, Umar was a loner with an excellent academic record. A 2021 trip to Turkiye with Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, alias Musaib, a faculty member at Al-Falah University in Faridabad and the first of the eight people arrested by Jammu and Kashmir police, led to his radicalisation.
The two may have met over-ground workers of the banned JeM during the trip, according to investigators.
Sources told PTI that investigators have found Turkish immigration stamps in their passports and were examining whether the two met any foreign-based handler during their trip.
After returning, Umar allegedly began accumulating explosives, including ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sulphur, with Ganaie and started storing them in and around the Al-Falah campus where he was pursuing higher studies.
Three-hour stay on November 10
Investigators were also examining what Umar did during his three-hour halt at the parking lot before he moved towards the Red Fort.
‘He was constantly tracking updates about those arrested in the Faridabad module. We are also trying to verify if he was communicating with his handlers using a signal phone,’ an officer told PTI.
Umar may have taken refuge in a mosque in the walled city, where he stayed for three hours on Monday evening before driving out, according to investigators.
Forensic experts are analysing exhibits from the blast site to detect fragments of a possible signal device that may have been used to stay in touch with handlers.
December 6 or January 26
Umar had planned a powerful blast timed around the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary on 6 December, an official told PTI on Wednesday evening.
According to officials, Umar told others about his December terror plan and began preparing for it by placing explosives in the Hyundai i20.
It is likely he was assembling a vehicle-based improvised explosive device (VBIED) after taking lessons on its construction and detonation circuit from open sources available online, officials said.
But on Wednesday afternoon investigators said that Ganaie had carried out multiple reconnaissance visits to the Red Fort area in January this year, weeks before the Republic Day celebrations.
Analysis of dump data from his mobile phone said his repeated presence around the Red Fort was detected in the first week of January.
A senior police officer, speaking to PTI on condition of anonymity, said analysis of dump data showed Dr Muzammil’s repeated presence in and around the Red Fort area.
Dr Muzammil visited the Red Fort multiple times to study security arrangements and crowd-density patterns along with Dr Umar Nabi, an assistant professor at Al-Falah University, officials said.
Their movements were corroborated through tower-location data and CCTV footage collected from nearby areas, they added.
‘These visits were part of a detailed reconnaissance ahead of a planned attack on 26 January,’ the officer said.
On Tuesday, investigators said that Umar may have panicked after the terror module was busted and police recovered 360 kg of inflammable material from Ganaie’s rented accommodation this week.