DNA test confirms identity of Delhi bomber — Here’s who he was
The Delhi Police on Thursday confirmed through DNA testing that the man who allegedly drove the explosive-laden Hyundai i20 that detonated near the Red Fort earlier this week was Dr. Umar Nabi Bhat, a medical professional from Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.
The blast killed nine people and injured several others on Monday evening.
Bhat’s DNA samples matched those of his mother’s, collected in Pulwama and brought to Delhi for comparison with remains preserved at Lok Nayak Hospital.
Experts at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) confirmed the match, identifying Bhat as the driver whose body had been severely damaged in the explosion.
Investigators said DNA profiling was critical to the identification, as the remains were beyond recognition.
Police officials suspect Bhat was the leader of a “white-collar” terror cell composed largely of doctors. The group was allegedly part of an “inter-state and transnational” module linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.
Seven suspects were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir just hours before the Red Fort blast.
Investigators believe Bhat was “steering and motivating” the module, which included other medical professionals. A red Ford EcoSport linked to him was recovered from a farmhouse in Khandawali village, Haryana, on Wednesday. Forensic and ballistic teams examined the vehicle after it was seized.
The SUV, police said, was mainly used by Dr. Muzamil Shakeel Ganai, another doctor from Pulwama and one of the seven arrested suspects. Ganai worked alongside Bhat at the School of Medical Sciences and Research Centre at Al Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana.
Bhat, a resident of Koil village in Pulwama, had previously studied medicine in Srinagar and briefly worked as a senior resident at the Government Medical College in Anantnag.
Former colleagues later described him as negligent and abrasive, with a pattern of absenteeism and patient complaints.
Two other doctors from Al Falah University — Dr. Ganai and Dr. Shaheen Shahid Ansari of Lucknow — were detained in the days before the explosion.
Authorities are now focusing on whether the group planned further attacks and how a trained doctor became the alleged mastermind of one of Delhi’s deadliest blasts in years.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
