NIA arrests Faridabad man for harbouring Red Fort car bomber Dr Umar

Soyab provided logistical support to Dr Umar

"NIA investigations have revealed that he had also provided logistical support to the terrorist Umar before the November 10 car bombing that killed several persons and injured many others outside the Red Fort in the national capital," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The agency continues to pursue various leads in connection with the suicide bombing and has been conducting searches across states in coordination with the respective police forces in a bid to identify and track others involved in the gruesome attack. 

Efforts to unravel the entire conspiracy behind the deadly terror attack are continuing.

Who is Soyab?

Soyab, who worked as a lab assistant at Alfalah University in Faridabad, allegedly helped Umar procure chemicals from the university laboratory.

Shoaib, a resident of the Dhauj area in Faridabad, had rented a house for Umar at his sister-in-law's residence in Hidayat Colony, Nuh, Haryana, shortly before the blasts. Officials allege that Umar used this house as a hideout during his escape, stored explosives there, and then travelled to Firozpur Jhirka in an i20 car. From there, he reportedly withdrew money from an ATM, took the Mumbai Expressway, entered Delhi via Badarpur, and eventually reached the Red Fort.

The Haryana Special Task Force (STF) inspected the rented house on November 16 and sealed it afterward.

Soyab had been under questioning by the NIA and other investigative agencies for several days. The NIA has now formally announced his arrest.

Delhi car blast 

It is to be noted here that a high-intensity blast in a parked Hyundai i20 car near the Red Fort Metro Station on November 10, which left at least 15 people dead, injuring over 20, and gutting several vehicles. The explosion triggered a fire that quickly spread to nearby cars. The incident occurred near Gate Number 1 of the station. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Cabinet has termed the car blast near the Red Fort as a "terrorist incident", expressing grief over the loss of lives and directing that the investigation be pursued with utmost urgency to bring the perpetrators, collaborators, and their sponsors to justice at the earliest. The government has directed investigating agencies to deal with the case with "utmost urgency and professionalism" to bring the perpetrators and their sponsors to justice without delay.