New Delhi:
Entry at 3.19 pm, exit at 6.28 pm, and then a blast. Umar Muhammad, the doctor believed to have triggered the deadly car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort, was at a parking lot nearby for over three hours. Investigation has revealed that during this time, he did not step out of his car at all and did not leave the vehicle unattended. Was he waiting for a go-ahead? Or having second thoughts?
Fresh revelations in the probe have added an entirely new angle. Sources among the investigators say that Umar’s original plan was to detonate the bomb, kept in the car’s back seat, near the Red Fort parking, which has a significant crowd on winter days.
But in his desperation after the arrest of his associates and the massive explosives recovery, Umar missed an important detail: Red Fort is closed on Mondays. He reached the parking lot, but there was no crowd. This must have frustrated Umar, who wondered what to do next.
After a three-hour wait, he drove out onto Netaji Subhash Marg, which runs along the Red Fort on one side and Chandni Chowk on the other. The car exploded at a traffic signal near the Red Fort Metro Station, damaging several other vehicles in the congested area and setting off alarm bells across the nation. Nine people were killed and over 20 were injured
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