Who Is Umar Mohammad? Delhi Blast Suspect Who Parked His Car Near Red Fort For 3 Hours

The first photograph of the alleged mastermind behind the car blast near Red Fort in Delhi on Monday evening has surfaced. The alleged suicide bomber has been identified as Dr. Umar Mohammad.

Pulwama-born Umar, a doctor by profession, was in the white Hyundai i20 car that exploded near Red Fort metro station, killing at least nine people and leaving 20 others injured.

In the blast that rocked the national capital around 7 p.m., several vehicles were also gutted in the fire that followed the explosion. The blast occurred in the moving Hyundai car at Subhash Marg traffic signal outside the Lal Qila (Red Fort) metro station.

Delhi Police are investigating all possible angles with multiple owners of the car used in the explosion under the scanner. Following the blast, the police traced and detained the car’s original owner, Mohd. Salman. During investigation, it was revealed that Salman had sold the car about one-and-a-half years ago to a man named Devendra in Okhla. The vehicle was later sold to someone in Ambala and then again to Tariq and Umar in Pulwama.

CCTV footage has also been recovered from the area to trace the car’s final moments before the blast occurred. Investigation reveals Umar was allegedly driving the car. The vehicle was moving from Daryaganj market area before reaching the parking lot near Sunehri Masjid. The vehicle with the number plate HR 26CE7674 was parked there for three hours before it proceeded toward lower Subhash Marg and exploded near the traffic signal.

Born on Feb. 24, 1989, in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, Umar worked as a doctor at Al Falah Medical College in Faridabad, Haryana. Reports suggest the suspect parked the vehicle near Red Fort for nearly three hours and did not leave the car even for a minute.

According to NDTV, he was reportedly a close aide of Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather and Dr Mujammil Shakil, the two doctors arrested on Monday in connection with the “white collar” terror module. The terror module was uncovered by police teams from Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana. Rather was a doctor at Anantnag's Government Medical College (GMC).

Umar reportedly fled Faridabad after learning that investigators had arrested two key members of the terror module and seized 2,900 kg of suspected explosives. In a state of panic, he allegedly triggered the deadly blast near the Red Fort, the NDTV report added.

"Umar Mohammad and his associates used ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) to carry out the attack. They placed a detonator in the car and carried out the terror attack in a crowded area near Red Fort," sources told NDTV.

Documents obtained by NDTV Profit reveal Umar’s MBBS registration lists him as the son of Nabi Bhat, based in the Koil village of Pulwama. He completed his MBBS qualification in January 2017, according to the Medical Council records.