(MENAFN- Live Mint) The highly sophisticated 'white-collar' terror cell, spearheaded by a group of medical practitioners and recently dismantled by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, had been actively seeking a suicide bomber since last year. The key architect, Dr Umar Nabi, was relentlessly pushing this agenda, according to officials cited by news agency PTI.

Interrogation of a co-accused who was subsequently detained indicated that Umar - who is believed to have been killed while driving the explosives-laden car that blew up near the Red Fort on 10 November - was a "hardcore radical" and insisted that a suicide bomber was essential for their operations.

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Subsequently, the Srinagar Police swiftly dispatched a team to Qazigund in south Kashmir and detained Jasir, alias 'Danish', a graduate with a bachelor's degree in Political Science. The arrest was made based on the questioning of co-accused individuals, including Dr Adeel Rather and Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie.

Plan Failed

The entire 'white-collar' terror cell was successfully cracked by the Srinagar Police, led by its SSP, Dr GV Sundeep Chakravarthy.

The detained man admitted to having met the 'Doctor cell' in October last year at a mosque in Kulgam. From there, he was taken to a rented accommodation at the Al Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana.

The individual further stated that while others in the cell wanted him to act as an over-ground worker for the proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammed, he was intensely radicalised by Umar over several months with the aim of becoming a suicide bomber.

The plan, however, failed in April this year after the man withdrew, citing his poor economic circumstances and the religious belief that suicide is forbidden in Islam.

This revelation about the suicide bomber plot adds a dangerous new dimension to the investigation into the inter-state terror network linked to the JeM.

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Powerful Explosion Planning & Babri Masjid Demolition

As previously reported by PTI, Umar, a 28-year-old doctor from Pulwama, had emerged as the most radicalised and pivotal operative in the network spanning Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. Officials believe he was planning a powerful vehicle-borne improvised explosive device explosion timed to coincide with the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary on 6 December.

However, officials said, having pieced together the evidence, that Umar's plans involved placing an IED in a crowded area, either in the National Capital Territory or at some place of religious significance, and then disappearing.

Umar's transformation began after a trip to Turkiye in 2021 with co-accused Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, where they allegedly met JeM over-ground workers, said the PTI report.

Following the trip, Umar and Ganaie, who taught at the Al Falah University, began accumulating vast quantities of chemicals from the open market, including 360 kg of ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, and sulphur.

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