The suicide bomber who set off a car blast near Red Fort last year likely used urea to make bombs, India’s premier anti-terror agency has alleged. Umar Un Nabi, a doctor, extracted urea from urine for this purpose, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has claimed in its chargesheet.
The NIA has collected witness statements and forensic evidence on the whereabouts of Nabi, his movements, his use of mobile phones, and the preparation of explosive materials during his stay in Nuh, the chargesheet said.
Nabi had first parked his explosives-laden i20 car near Lal Mandir, a Jain temple, before he moved to Red Fort, it has further emerged in the probe into the blast that left 11 dead and dozens other injured on November 10, 2025.
Until a day before, the suicide bomber lived in a rented room in Nuh for about 11 days, as per a witness who lived nearby. This is where he allegedly made explosives.
The Urine-To-Bomb Plan
A method of making explosives using urea nitrate was mentioned in PDFs found in pen drives belonging to Nabi and another suspect, Shaheen Saeed, the chargesheet has said. The documents also mentioned what the NIA claimed was an alternative method of extracting urea from urine.
The agency cited a witness who claimed to have spotted a polybag filled with urine that made Nabi’s room stink. The woman had even complained about it to his friend, Shoaib, they alleged.
Read: Anti-Terror Agency NIA Unpacks Multi-Year Conspiracy Behind Red Fort Blast
The chargesheet also mentioned that during his stay in Nuh, Nabi went out to buy new clothes with a relative of Shoaib – a t-shirt, a white shirt, and cargo pants, to be specific. The payment was made in cash. The purchases serve as key evidence in the NIA probe.
Target Lal Mandir?
The suicide bomber’s initial target appears to be the Lal Mandir, but central Delhi traffic forced a last-minute change of plan, according to the chargesheet.
The NIA had mapped his movements as part of its probe to unearth the wider conspiracy behind the deadly blast. Nabi, it said, walked out of the Sunhari Masjid parking lot around 6:37 pm. He drove his car and tried to park near Lal Mandir, the chargesheet said.
However, due to traffic and police presence, he took a U-turn and reached the Red Fort, it added. The blast occurred minutes later, at 6:50 pm.
Read: Behind Red Fort Blast: Fake IDs, Online Shopping Spree, Homegrown Bomb Lab
The NIA had earlier found that Nabi visited the Red Fort 12 times between 2023 and 2025. The last visit was six months before the blast, on May 1. The agency does not find the trips to be just for sightseeing but rather a reconnaissance session for planning the blast.
Nabi and his associates would turn off their mobile phones during such visits in what the NIA suspects was aimed to concealing their digital movement records.
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