A dry-fruit seller from south Kashmir’s Qazigund who had set himself on fire after his son and brother were arrested in connection with the investigation into the “white-collar terror module” succumbed to burn injuries on Monday night.

Hours after Bilal Ahmad Wani’s death, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed the deceased’s son was a key associate of the "terrorist" involved in the Red Fort car blast.

Bilal, in his mid-50s, had suffered serious burns after a self-immolation bid at his home in Wanpoh village in Anantnag’s Qazigund on Sunday morning after the arrest of his son Jasir Ahmad Wani alias Danish and brother Naveel Ahmad Wani. He died at Srinagar’s SMHS hospital during treatment.

According to the NIA, Bilal’s son Jasir was an “active co-conspirator” of Dr Umar un Nabi, who was driving the car that exploded near the Red Fort, killing 13 people on November 10.

“NIA investigations have revealed that Jasir had allegedly provided technical support for carrying out terror attacks by modifying drones and attempting to make rockets ahead of the deadly car bomb blast,” the NIA said.

“The NIA continues to explore various angles to unravel the conspiracy behind the bombing. Several teams of the anti-terror agency are pursuing multiple leads, and are conducting searches across states to identify every person involved in the terror attack,” the agency added.

Bilal’s family had earlier claimed that both Jasir and Naveel were innocent, and that Bilal was distraught over their arrest.

They are neighbours of two accused persons in the terror module case — Dr Adeel Rather, who was arrested from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur on November 6, and his elder brother, Dr Muzaffar Ahmad Rather, who is reportedly missing.

The uncle-nephew duo are among hundreds arrested by the security forces and police following the blast.

Bilal’s family said he was also summoned for questioning on Saturday morning and returned home late at night. The next morning, he poured petrol on himself and set himself on fire.

His sister-in-law, Naseema Akhtar, said he felt humiliated over the arrests.

“He suffered 100 per cent burns. I saw it with my own eyes. We feel helpless,” she told reporters.

A doctor at SMHS hospital said Bilal had 70-80 per cent burn injuries.

Naseema said the family was in no way connected with militancy, adding that they interacted with the doctor siblings only because they were an educated family.

“Parents tell their children to keep the company of good people. They are doctors. How do we know what is happening inside?” she told reporters.

“Innocent people are being arrested here for having a connection with Dr Adeel Rather. If one man commits a mistake, that does not make everyone a culprit. We are innocent. My husband, Navel Ahmad Wani, is a physics lecturer. He is in no way involved. He was arrested while on duty. We are respectable people,” she added.

Bilal is the fifth Kashmiri civilian — in addition to six Kashmiri policemen and forensic employees — to have died either in the Delhi blast or during its probe.

On November 14, an “accidental blast” at Nowgam police station, where explosives seized from the terror module’s Faridabad safe houses had been stored, killed nine people.

One of the victims of the Red Fort blast has been identified as Bilal Ahmad, a resident of Ganderbal.

After Bilal’s self-immolation bid, former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had said the level of police “high-handedness” only deepened wounds and bred despair.