SRINAGAR: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced Monday the arrest of a Kashmiri college student from Srinagar linked to Delhi suicide bomber Dr Umar Un Nabi, hours after the suspect’s father died in hospital of burns suffered in a purported immolation attempt outside their home in Anantnag district’s Qazigund.Jasir Bilal Wani, aka Danish, had been detained four days ago for interrogation along with his paternal uncle Nabeel Wani, a physics teacher.
The family said Jasir’s father Bilal Ahmad Wani, 55, was summoned by police last Saturday and he returned home “distressed”. The next morning, Bilal walked out of his house in the Wanpora neighbourhood of Qazigund and set himself ablaze, resulting in severe burns. The dry fruits trader died at Srinagar’s SMHS Hospital early Monday.NIA issued a statement confirming that Jasir’s interrogation over the past few days yielded clues to the Delhi blast, including what the agency said was his “active involvement” in the car blast that killed 14 people and wounded over 30 people.“Investigations have revealed that Jasir allegedly provided technical support for terror attacks by modifying drones and attempting to make rockets ahead of the deadly car bomb blast,” NIA said. “The accused was a co-conspirator who worked closely with the terrorist, Umar Un Nabi, to plan the terror carnage. NIA continues to explore various angles to unravel the conspiracy behind the bombing.”Multiple teams are working on leads and searching for suspects across states “to identify every person involved in the terror attack”, the agency said.Jasir’s arrest was announced a day after NIA took into custody Amir Rashid Ali, a resident of Samboora in Pampore, for conspiring with Nabi. The car used in the explosion was registered in his name.The Wanis are neighbours of Dr Adeel Rather, arrested from UP’s Saharanpur on Nov 6 on suspicion of being part of the “white-collar terror module”.PDP chief and ex-CM Mehbooba Mufti blamed police “high-handedness” for Bilal immolating himself. In a post on X, accompanied by a picture of a man with burns across his back, she wrote, “Petrified about their (Bilal’s son and brother) safety he pleaded with the authorities to just see them, which was denied. This…only deepens wounds and breeds despair.”
