Security agencies on Thursday night blew up the house of the young doctor who allegedly drove the explosive-laden car that blew up near the Red Fort on November 10, another instance of the hardline stand on locals who join militancy.

Locals said the house of Dr Umar un Nabi, a resident of Koil village in Pulwama, was blown up around midnight, sparking condemnation from some politicians. He is the prime suspect in the Red Fort blast.

The house was owned by Umar’s father, Ghulam Nabi Bhat, a former government school teacher who quit his job following severe depression.

A relative said personnel from security agencies placed explosives in the house and asked the inmates to leave the premises. He said some adjoining houses also
suffered damage.

Security forces are officially tight-lipped about the development, apparently due to the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling that said razing the homes of suspects or convicts without following due process of law was “unconstitutional”.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah criticised the demolition, saying: “If these things had stopped terrorism, it would have ended by now. How many houses did you demolish after Pahalgam? Did it stop? I fear such things would only increase anger.

“These decisions are not taken by us but those who take such decisions should do a rethink. I was also CM for six years (2008 to 2014) when the responsibility of security lay with me. Every year, there was a decline in militancy, and we never felt the need to blow up houses like this,” he said.

Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah said demolishing a home won’t deliver “punishment” but it “only inflicts collective suffering”.

“Making an entire family homeless during the harsh winter of Kashmir without evidence/ court order or any law linking them to the incident is an act of cruelty. It doesn’t bring justice to the innocent lives that we lost in the terror attack, and it doesn’t achieve the ends of justice,” he said on X.

“Hold the actual perpetrators accountable through lawful investigation. Mass detentions, coercive interrogations and illegal demolitions will not bring peace, they will drag Kashmir back by decades.”

Locals said the forces laid siege to the village late in the evening and asked the residents of dozens of homes to vacate the premises.

“Umar’s family was told to vacate the house in minutes. After some time, there were loud explosions and the house was razed to the ground,” a local said.

A picture showed Umar’s father inspecting the house. Relatives said Ghulam Nabi was weighed down by depression for years, during which he quit his job and divorced
his wife.

“Ghulam Nabi lived there along with his estranged wife Shameema Begum. Although his condition has improved, most of the time he remains confined to his room,” a nephew of Shameema said.

“Initially, after the divorce, he lived separately, but his sons brought him back. Their elder son, Ashiq Hussain, his wife Muzamilla and their child (besides Umar’s youngest brother) also lived there. Umar only visited the house occasionally as he worked outside,” she said.

Umar’s DNA samples — taken from the exploded car — have matched with his mother’s, officials in Dehi have said unofficially. The police had earlier detained Umar’s parents but they were later released. Their two
other sons remain in detention in connection with
the investigation.

The Delhi attack has stoked fresh divisions, with former Jammu and Kashmir police chief Shesh Paul Vaid suggesting restrictions on admission of Kashmiris to Jammu-based Katra
Medical College.

“Reportedly, around 70% of the seats at Katra Medical College were allotted to students from Kashmir. The college is funded by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, and the board’s ecosystem, including the medical college, is funded entirely through donations from Hindu pilgrims visiting the temple. And then we see doctors like Dr Muzammil or Dr Nabi, possibly graduating from such institutions, doing what they always do. Who is responsible? What should have been done, and what can still be done? I leave that to your good judgement,” Vaid said on X.

The demolition of the doctor’s home came months after security agencies blew up the homes of nine suspected militants following the Pahalgam attack. Investigations found that none of the suspected militants were involved in that terror strike.