Maharashtra Woman Probed for Red Fort Blast Connection, Held With Fake IAS Papers
A woman from Maharashtra’s Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) has been arrested after police uncovered suspicious links suggesting a possible connection to the recent blast near Delhi’s Red Fort. Investigators say the woman, who identified herself as Kalpana Bhagwat, had been living under a fake IAS identity and may have links to individuals in Pakistan’s army as well as contacts in Afghanistan.
She was detained at the luxury hotel where she had been staying for the past six months. According to police, she was in Delhi at the time the blast occurred — a detail that has placed her under intense scrutiny.
During the remand hearing, officers told the court that the probe will examine whether she poses a threat to national security and whether she has any direct involvement in the Delhi blast. A search of her hotel room revealed a fake IAS appointment letter from 2017 and discrepancies in her Aadhaar card.
Sources said large sums of money had been transferred to her bank account, reportedly from accounts belonging to her boyfriend, Ashraf Khalil in Afghanistan, and his brother Aved Khalil in Pakistan. Officers recovered a cheque of ₹19 crore and another of ₹6 lakh from her room.
The police also told the court that she possessed 10 international phone numbers, some linked to Afghanistan and Peshawar. Contacts saved as numbers belonging to Pakistan Army personnel, the Peshawar Army Cantonment Board, and even the Afghanistan Embassy were found. A number saved as “Home Minister OSD” was also recovered.
Investigators noted that she had deleted WhatsApp conversations with an individual in Pakistan. Officials from the Intelligence Bureau have been questioning her for the past three days. While documents list her name as Kalpana Bhagwat, police are still working to confirm her real identity. She has been sent to police custody for 10 days.
Delhi Blast Case Background
Seven people have so far been arrested in connection with the blast near Red Fort, which left 15 people dead and over 12 injured. Investigators say the attack — carried out using a Hyundai i20 — was executed by “white-collar terrorists.”
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
