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New Delhi: Expressing deep sorrow over the Delhi blast, Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.) on Wednesday underscored the urgent need to dismantle the ecosystem of overground workers that supports and promotes terrorism in the country.

In an interview with ANI, Lieutenant General Hasnain (Retd.) noted that while several terror operatives, including doctors and intellectuals, were arrested across India before the blast, overground workers often remain unnoticed, living seemingly normal lives while secretly aiding terrorist networks.

"I express my very deep regrets for the loss of lives of our own people. But still there is an ecosystem of overground workers and in this case also you have seen doctors, intellectuals who are now under investigation... Overground workers are not hiding like terrorists are living normal life but are working for the terrorist networks... NIA has diluted this ecosystem significantly till 2017-18... This system needs to be neutralised," Lieutenant General Hasnain (Retd.) said.

Lieutenant General Hasnain further highlighted that he will view the Delhi blast as an incident pending the outcome of ongoing investigations into the matter. He also recalled the previous similar terror incidents happening across the country, including the 1993 Mumbai blast, 2002 Akshardham blast and the 2011 Delhi High Court explosion.

"I will call it an incident because there is no evidence yet, the investigations are underway and we must keep our words in control so that we don't prejudice this whole investigation in any way... It seems to be a revisit to the terrible times of the past when we used to see these incidents happening in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and places like that. I still remember the 1993 blasts in Mumbai. I can recall the incidents at Sarojini Nagar, Akshardham, 13/11 Delhi High Court incident," he said.

The Lieutenant General also stressed that the "global terror footprint" in Jammu and Kashmir has reduced, highlighting the decrease in the number of terrorists in the region. He mentioned that as India aims to achieve its goal of becoming a developed nation, a lot of adversaries will want nation's progress to be stymied.

"The global war on terrorism has ended, global terror footprint has also significantly reduced but not from J&K. The number of terrorists in J&K has reduced. Many may not be comfortable as India is aiming to become 'Viksit Bharat'... A lot of adversaries will want India's progress to get stymied...This may be the beginning of an attempt to try and do this kind of thing," he said.

The Lieutenant General Hasnain further lauded the efforts of the security agencies, asserting that the citizens need to be inspired by them. He also mentioned that the country is in safe hands at present, asserting that current development across the nation is a manifestation of issues which will continue.

"We should take heart from the fact that all this has been discovered... We need to be inspired by the work of intelligence agencies...The country is in safe hands and whatever you're seeing at this time is a manifestation of issues which will continue. We are not saying this is going to come to an end overnight, but I think all this will be managed well. We have much better security... All kinds of people from different ministries, different organisations are coming together," he added.

Meanwhile, the threads of Delhi blast are linked to objectionable posters in the Nowgam area of Srinagar for which an FIR was registered on October 19, sources have said. Security forces also took strong action to bust inter-state Jaish-e-Mohammed module linked to the terror plot.

During the investigation of this case, two arrests were made from Shopian and Ganderbal between October 20 and 27 and on November 5, a medical practitioner Dr Adil was apprehended from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, sources said.

During interrogation, the accused revealed the names of other persons involved in this module. Subsequently, Dr Muzammil, a doctor from Al Falah Medical College in Faridabad, was arrested, the sources said.

According to CCTV footage, the car in which the Red Fort explosion occurred was being driven by Umar, a member of this module. The explosion was caused by the same type of material stockpiled in Faridabad, from where nearly 3,000 kilograms of explosives were seized, the sources said.

Delhi Police and other security agencies rushed to the site following the explosion. Home Minister Amit Shah immediately directed NSG, NIA, and forensic teams to reach the location. The injured were promptly taken to the nearest hospital and the ownership of the vehicle used in the blast was confirmed.

Essential DNA, explosive, and other samples have been collected from the site and sent for forensic examination. The explosion probe has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency.