A dramatic and highly unusual courtroom moment unfolded when the defence lawyer for Amir Rashid Ali — the man accused of helping execute the November 10 car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort — openly stated that her client showed “no guilt and no remorse.” Advocate Smriti Chaturvedi also confirmed that Ali was the registered owner of the Hyundai i20 that was converted into an improvised explosive device for the attack.
Her remarks were striking because they echoed prosecutorial language rather than a defence strategy, triggering outrage across social media. Many users questioned how a lawyer could publicly undermine her own client, calling it unethical and demanding disciplinary action. Several accused her of legal malpractice, arguing that every accused person is entitled to a proper defence regardless of the allegations.
Ali, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, was arrested on November 16 and has been sent to 10-day NIA custody. According to investigators, he played a crucial role in arranging and purchasing the i20 used in the blast, travelling to Delhi earlier this month specifically to help Dr Umar Nabi secure the vehicle. The NIA says the car was later handed over to Umar, who was inside it when it exploded near the Red Fort, killing him on the spot and injuring more than 20 people, while 14 died.
A second vehicle owned by Umar — a red Ford EcoSport — was found abandoned in a Haryana village hours later and seized for forensic inspection.
Meanwhile, a video that surfaced on Tuesday shows Dr Umar — a doctor from Pulwama and allegedly the most radicalised member of the “white-collar” Faridabad terror module — attempting to justify suicide bombings as “martyrdom operations” in Islam. Investigators believe the November 10 blast was accidental and that Umar was preparing for a larger suicide attack.
The terror module, linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, is believed to include nine to ten members, including five to six doctors from Al-Falah University who allegedly used their medical backgrounds to procure chemicals and explosive materials. The case continues to widen, and the NIA is now investigating the entire network surrounding the Red Fort blast.
