From Juvenile Home to Terror Web: Yasir Dar Leads NIA Into Kashmir Forests After Red Fort Blast

New Delhi: Clad in a black hoodie, white face mask, beige trousers and grey shoes, handcuffed Yasir Ahmad Dar cut a stark figure as he was taken into the dense Padpawan forest belt of Shopian on Friday afternoon. 

Once a minor lodged in Srinagar’s Harwan Juvenile Home, Dar is now accused as a conspirator in the November 10 Red Fort car bomb blast that killed 15 people in Delhi.

The two‑hour search operation, led by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF, focused on Padpawan in Shopian, south Kashmir.

Investigators revealed that this forested site was used by the Jaish‑e‑Mohammed (JeM)‑linked “white‑collar” terror module for clandestine meetings and trial blasts ahead of major strikes.

“This belt has been under surveillance for months. We suspect it was used for planning and rehearsals,” said a senior security official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Dar, a gardener by profession, was brought to the site to identify potential hideouts based on disclosures made during interrogation.

According to sources, Dar revealed that he and Molvi Irfan Ahmad Wagay alias Mufti Irfan, a cleric accused of radicalising module members, had met JeM operatives in the same forest belt. Both Dar and Irfan hail from Shopian in south Kashmir.

Sources further said that during investigation Dar confessed Irfan would often drop him near the “Shopian fire service station” after the two concluded their meetings in the woods.

Digital evidence recovered from Dar’s phone, including photographs and videos of him with Irfan at the same location where Friday’s search was conducted, has further corroborated their association.

“Recovered visuals clearly establish his proximity to Irfan and the module’s activities,” another source said.

Dar’s troubled past dates back to 2022, when he was booked under FIR No. 44/2022 at Gund Police Station in Ganderbal under arms and ammunition provisions.

Then a minor, he was lodged in Srinagar’s Harwan Observation Home under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

On July 9, 2022, the Juvenile Justice Board, Ganderbal, granted him interim bail against a Rs 35,000 bond, citing concerns over his education and future. The bail remained valid until July 20, 2022. 

At the time, officials handing his case, hoped rehabilitation would steer him away from terror related activities. Instead, investigators now say he gravitated deeper into extremist networks.

“His case shows how early intervention failed. Despite being given a chance, he slipped back into the fold,” said an official familiar with his record.

For investigators, Dar’s arrest last month and Friday’s forest search mark a new phase in the probe.

“Every disclosure matters. Each site he points to helps us understand how the module operated. It’s a reminder that terror networks thrive on ordinary faces be it gardeners, clerics or doctors until they are unmasked,” a senior official added.

Pertinently, November 10 Red Fort blast was executed by Dr Umar Un Nabi, a Pulwama‑based doctor and module member, who was killed in the suicide attack using an explosives‑laden car.

The interstate conspiracy, involving radicalised professionals like doctors and clerics, was busted by J&K Police in November 2025, leading to the seizure of nearly 3,000 kg of explosives across multiple states.