Role of rented i10 car in blast plot under lens
New Delhi, Nov. 19 -- Investigators probing the deadly blast near Delhi's Red Fort suspect that a fifth vehicle - a rented Hyundai i10 - was used by the so-called "white collar" terror module to transport explosive material across Delhi-NCR in the days leading up to the attack. Officers from Delhi and Faridabad police said the car was rented and used between October 24 and 27, and could have been used in the movement of ammonium nitrate and other chemicals recovered from the Faridabad accommodation of key accused Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie.
The discovery brings the total number of vehicles used by the module to five: the i20 in which suicide bomber Umar un-Nabi died; the red EcoSport registered in Umar's name later found in a Faridabad village; a white Swift Dzire owned by accused Dr Shaheen Shahid; a silver Maruti Brezza bought by Shahid on September 25; and now the rented i10 traced this week.
"We have traced the i10. It belongs to a taxi owner who rented it for three days. The man who took it refused a driver and paid between Rs.4,000 and Rs.5,000. We will now seize the vehicle, send it for forensic examination, and show the taxi owner and driver Umar's photograph to confirm whether he was the one who took the car," an investigator said. The car had no GPS device, making route reconstruction difficult.
A second senior officer said the probe is also examining whether multiple rented vehicles were used to move explosive materials.
"Initial questioning (of Shahid) indicates he frequently rented cars without drivers. It appears likely that several vehicles were used over months," the officer said.
The focus on another vehicle comes even as images circulating on social media on Monday showed Dr Shahid and Dr Muzammil standing beside a car seized earlier, the Brezza, on the day of its purchase.
Police officials confirmed the photograph was genuine....
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