Police have traced the red Maruti Brezza reportedly used by the accused doctors in the Red Fort blast case. The vehicle was recovered from the premises of Al-Falah University, officials said.

According to police, the Brezza was registered in the name of Dr Shaheen, one of the suspects under investigation in connection with the case.

Earlier, security and investigation agencies had intensified efforts to trace a third car believed to be linked to the Red Fort blast, which the government has described as a terrorist incident, officials said on Thursday.

A white Hyundai i20 exploded near Red Fort on Monday evening, and investigators later traced a second vehicle, a red Ford EcoSport, to Faridabad. However, a third car, suspected to be a Maruti Brezza, remained untraced at the time, police sources told news agencies.

“The missing third car is suspected to have been used by the accused for reconnaissance or escape. Multiple teams are looking for the third car,” PTI quoted a source as saying.

Searches had been carried out across Delhi-NCR and adjoining states to locate the missing Brezza before it was eventually found, officials confirmed.

Intelligence Agency sources told ANI, “Faridabad Police have detained the man who parked the red EcoSport in Khandwali, Faridabad. The man who parked the car is said to be Faheem, who is also a relative of the accused Dr Umar Un Nabi.”

CCTV visuals also show Dr Umar Nabi, the suspected driver of the explosives-laden car, leaving a mosque near Turkman Gate shortly before the blast. CCTV footage also shows the white Hyundai i20 moving around Connaught Place before the explosion near Red Fort on Monday evening.

Death toll rises

The death toll from Monday’s blast climbed to 13 after another injured person succumbed to injuries at LNJP Hospital in Delhi.

“The deceased has been identified as Bilal,” an official said.

According to Delhi police, information about Bilal’s death was received from the hospital early Thursday morning. A post-mortem is scheduled later in the day.

Several other victims remain under treatment at various hospitals.

Key leads from diaries and financial trail

Security agencies have recovered diaries belonging to Dr Umar and Dr Muzammil, the key accused in the Delhi blast case. The diaries — recovered on Tuesday and Wednesday from Dr Umar’s room number 4 and Dr Muzammil’s room number 13 — mention dates between November 8 and 12.

This, the sleuths believe, indicate that planning for the attack was underway during that period.

According to sources quoted by news agencies, the diaries also contained the names of about 25 individuals, mostly from Jammu and Kashmir and Faridabad, along with coded references that investigators are now decoding.

“According to the information from the diaries, it can be said that the blast was to be carried out as part of a well-planned conspiracy,” ANI quoted a source as saying.

Police also recovered a diary from Muzammil’s room in Dhauj, located about 300 m from Al-Falah University, the same spot where 360 kg of explosives were earlier found. Investigators suspect that multiple vehicles were being prepared for blasts in different locations.

Investigators believe that after the i20 and EcoSport, the suspects were planning to prepare two more vehicles for coordinated attacks. Eight suspects were allegedly preparing to execute synchronised explosions at four locations, each pair assigned to a specific city.

Preliminary findings suggest that the accused groups intended to move in pairs, each carrying multiple IEDs for simultaneous attacks. Those under investigation include Dr Muzammil, Dr Adeel, Dr Umar, and Shaheen, all of whom have past links to terror cases.

Investigation sources also said the accused had raised money, though each agency differed on the amount – from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 26 lakh.

This money, the news agencies said quoting sources, was handed over to Umar for operational expenses. The funds were allegedly used to procure over 20 quintals of NPK fertiliser worth around Rs 3 lakh from Gurugram, Nuh, and nearby areas for use in preparing improvised explosive devices aka IEDs.

Investigators have also apparently found that Umar created a Signal app group with two to four members to coordinate securely.

Probe agency sources told news agencies that Dr Muzammil became inclined towards Ansar Gazwat-Ul-Hind, an offshoot of ISIS, between 2021 and 2022, after coming into contact with associates of slain terrorists.

He was reportedly introduced to the network by Irfan alias Maulvi. Weapons recovered in 2023 and 2024 are believed to have been acquired by this module as part of their plan to form an independent terror outfit.

Officials said agencies are now tracking the broader network and suspect that the accused were planning a series of explosions across multiple Indian cities in the near future.

Mahipalpur panic after bus tyre burst

In a separate incident, panic gripped Delhi’s Mahipalpur area on Thursday morning after a blast-like sound was heard, later found to be caused by a bus tyre burst, officials said.

The Delhi Fire Services received a call at 9:19 am reporting a loud sound near Radisson Hotel, Mahipalpur, and dispatched three fire tenders to the spot.

After extensive checks, no suspicious materials were found.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Amit Goel said, “The caller was contacted. He said that while he was on the way to Gurugram, a loud noise was heard. We checked everything and nothing was found.”

He added, “During local enquiry, a guard informed us that the rear tyre of a DTC bus going towards Dhaula Kuan had burst and the sound came from that.”

“The situation is normal and there is nothing to worry,” the DCP said.