November 20, 2025
NEW DELHI – As the investigation into the November 10 blast near the Red Fort in Delhi continues, investigators appear to have solved another piece of the puzzle: what was bomber Dr Umar Muhammad, aka Dr Umar Un Nabi, doing sitting in the Hyundai i20 car for almost three hours at the Lal Qila parking lot?
A report claimed on Wednesday, quoting sources, that the Delhi blast accused Umar assembled the bomb, which later went off at 6.52 pm at the red light in front of the Red Fort, while sitting inside the car at the public parking space.
The blast took place near Gate No 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station, when the Haryana-registered Hyundai i20, moving slowly towards the red signal, suddenly exploded, causing other vehicles around to catch fire.
At least 15 people have died so far in the incident, with more than a dozen injured.
The Hyundai i20 that exploded was being driven by Umar, a native of Koil village in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.
While the investigation into the Delhi blast and the connected busting of the Faridabad white-collar terror module continues at multiple levels, investigators were focusing on a crucial aspect of Umar’s presence in the car for three hours in the parking lot of the Red Fort.
As per a report in IANS, among the key questions puzzling them were: was Umar talking to someone on the phone? Did he meet anyone? Was he in the area around the Red Fort for recce? Was he waiting for the evening peak hour to carry out the explosion when the crowd would be at its maximum?
As per the probe so far, the car entered the Red Fort parking lot at 3.19 pm and exited at 6.22 pm. During this period, Umar was sitting inside the car for the entire period, and he was likely in touch with his handlers. He also used this time to put together the explosives.
It appears the plan was to cause the explosion in the evening for maximum impact, but the attackers had probably missed the fact that the Red Fort is closed on Mondays, and because of this, the parking lot was almost empty. They were then forced to change the plan and detonate the explosives on the road.
The bomb blast finally took place on Netaji Subhash Marg, which has the Red Fort on one side and Chandni Chowk on the other.
The investigators are also trying to figure out if Umar was waiting in the parking lot to contact members of the sleeper cell or receive logistical support.