Red Fort blast: Air ticket from Srinagar to Delhi found from house of doctor held from Saharanpur

A flight ticket showing that Dr Adil Ahmad, a Jammu and Kashmir native arrested from Saharanpur last week, had travelled from Srinagar to Delhi on October 31, just days before the November 10 car explosion near Red Fort that killed 13 people and injured over 20.

According to officials, the air ticket bearing Adil’s name and travel date was recovered from a garbage pile outside his rented house in Aman Vihar Colony, Manakmau, along Ambala Road in Saharanpur on Wednesday.

The house, now sealed and under police guard, was searched after multiple intelligence and anti-terror teams reached the city earlier this week, they said.

Police sources said the ticket has been seized and sent for forensic examination. The finding has raised further questions about Adil’s movements and possible links to the Delhi blast, as investigators try to determine how long he stayed in the capital and whom he met during that period.

Adil was arrested from Saharanpur on November 6. His travel records now suggest that he flew from Srinagar to Delhi on October 31, barely 10 days before the Red Fort blast, according to officials.

Adil, a doctor holding MBBS and MD degrees, had been working at Famous Hospital on Ambala Road in Saharanpur, where he was described by colleagues as “quiet, polite and professional”.

Despite his professional credentials, investigators allege that Adil maintained links with terror outfits, including Jaish-e-Mohammed, and may have facilitated logistics for their operations.

Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir Police had taken Adil on remand to Srinagar, while the central and state agencies also expanded their probe into his activities and network.

Security agencies from Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and central intelligence units are currently camping in Saharanpur to trace Adil’s local contacts and verify his communications and bank records.

Adil had been living in a rented house in Bapu Vihar Colony on Ambala Road. Locals described him as a quiet tenant who kept to himself but frequently received late-night visitors, with several vehicles often seen parked outside.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police filed a case in Srinagar on October 28 after posters supporting the proscribed outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed appeared in several areas. CCTV footage allegedly showed Adil putting up the posters, leading investigators to trace him to Saharanpur. He was taken into custody from Famous Hospital and handed over to the Srinagar Police on transit remand.

Meanwhile, Dr Babar, a colleague at Famous Hospital, said that Adil had joined the facility in March and was “highly competent” in his field.

“It is painful that such an educated person could be involved in shameful acts,” he said on Wednesday.

Also Read: ‘Everything is finished’: families of Red Fort blast victims grapple with loss, despair and uncertainty 

Investigators are now probing whether Adil’s Delhi visit on October 31 had any operational link to the November 10 Red Fort blast, or if he was acting independently as part of a broader network.

Adil’s arrest is seen as part of a wider counterterrorism operation launched after the Delhi blast and the earlier busting of a “white-collar terror module” in Faridabad and Haryana, where several suspects, including doctors associated with Al Falah University, were arrested and large quantities of explosives were recovered.