'Suicide Attempt To Accused In Delhi Car Blast': How Arif Nisar Dar Got Indoctrinated

Srinagar: A paved road leads to Nowgam's Bunpora in Srinagar which is the origin from where a terror module unraveled. It is a normal day for the Dar family as they stack bags of charcoal for 'kangri's (firepots) ahead of winters on a sunny morning.

Their son Arif Nisar Dar, 22, is the youngest among the seven accused who police alleged were running a 'white collar' syndicate linked to Delhi Red Fort blast.

At least 13 people were killed in the blast in a Hyundai i20 car packed with explosives. Investigation suggests that the blast may have been triggered prematurely by one of the terrorists, Dr Umar Nabi from Koil Pulwama after the module got exposed.

Three more doctors including Dr Adeel Rather of Kulgam and Muzamil Shakeel Gani of Koil Pulwama and Shaheen Saeed of Lucknow were part of the terror cell. But the entire network linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) got busted after J&K police rounded up a few youth including Arif from the Valley.

A school dropout, Arif confessed to his family that he had committed a mistake by pasting intimidating Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) posters in the neighbourhood. Outside Dar's home, shops are open and the case dominates conversations as the probe widens. Many residents told ETV Bharat that they had heard about some posters pasted around but it did not draw much attention.

But after the inter-state and transnational terrorist module comprising four doctors including Umar Nabi, killed in the Delhi car blast was busted, residents said they came to know about the gravity of the issue. Cache of arms and ammunition alongside explosives comprising 2,900 kg of ammonium nitrate was recovered from Faridabad from the accused doctors.

The residential colony of Faizabad Nowgam in Srinagar where Imam was leading prayers (ETV Bharat)

In Bunpora, two more residents including Yasir-ul-Ashraf and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid are also part of the module. But residents find it hard to believe that Arif is among the accused as they know him as someone who was medically 'unfit' since childhood.

"He attempted to commit suicide by hanging from fan a year ago. He gets violent due to panic attacks and has has been suffering from the problem since childhood after falling from a height," said Gulshan, displaying medicines and prescriptions from the government tertiary SMHS Hospital to describe her son's medical condition.

Second among the three siblings, Arif was being encouraged by his family to work alongside his father, a construction contractor after he was unable to clear the Class XI examinations a few years ago. His elder sister is married while the younger brother who abandoned studies in Class VIII works with a carpenter.

Flanked by her daughter and son, Gulshan said her husband handed Arif to Nowgam police on October 18. "But he did not disclose anything to us at that time. We met him twice at the police station and he accepted the mistake of pasting posters and had told the same to police officers as well. But he wanted to be pardoned as he might not be aware of what it meant," she added.

he residential quarter sealed by police at the mosque premises where Imam was residing (ETV Bharat)

In the neighbourhood, almost half-a-kilomet reaway at Faizabad residential colony, residents are in disbelief about a man leading prayers in their mosque for the last more than five years. A native of Shopian in south Kashmir, Maulvi Irfan Ahmad Wagay had completed education from madrassas (religious seminaries) in Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh before being appointed as Imam (cleric) in 2019. Many describe him as an introvert, who lived as a family man and would spend weekends at his native place in Shopian.

Residents including the community president Farooq Ahmad describe the cleric as 'gentle' in his behaviour whose sermons would revolve around community issues. "He never talked or delivered sermons on 'Jihad' but would mainly focus on responsibilities towards parents. He married 2-3 years ago and was living with his wife and son in a residential quarter on the mosque premises," said Ahmad.

He claimed they had submitted his particulars to the concerned police station and was called to community meetings by police as well.

While he was leading prayers in the mosque, he had maintained close ties with the Banpora neighbourhood where he would hold evening religious classes. He would teach youngsters in the locality where the posters were recovered, said an official describing him as a key conspirator in leading indoctrination and radicalisation of doctors as well.

In Banpora, Arif's mother said her son had abandoned community 'Darsgah' a year ago and they would press him to go there like many other. That is how the cleric had been quietly brainwashing young minds without inviting suspicion, the official added.

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