Ganderbal, November 17, 2025 — Among the ten victims of the Red Fort car explosion, authorities have identified Bilal Ahmad, a resident of Ganderbal in Jammu & Kashmir. Known in the Chandni Chowk market as Bilal “Kashmiri,” he had lived and worked in Delhi for nearly sixteen years.
Bilal, aged 32, had moved to the capital as a teenager in search of work. He operated a battery-powered goods cart in Chandni Chowk, transporting merchandise for shopkeepers and traders. Friends and fellow workers said he led a simple life, often sleeping under a tree near the cycle market where he parked his cart. All his belongings were kept in a single bag tied to the vehicle.
On the evening of 10 November, minutes before the blast, Bilal received a phone call from his friend Shiv Singh Nagar around 6:50 pm. He told him he was at the traffic signal near the Red Fort. After the explosion, Bilal managed to answer a second call at 7:01 pm, informing his friend that he was injured and being taken to a hospital. That brief call was his last conversation. Friends who rushed to the emergency ward were not allowed to meet him.
In the market, Bilal was remembered as cheerful, hardworking and dependable. Fellow operator Lala Ram recalled that just hours before the incident, Bilal had jokingly told him to retire because of his age. Such small exchanges, his friends say, now carry a painful weight.
Despite living alone in Delhi, Bilal stayed closely connected with his family in Kashmir through regular video calls. His family had been urging him to return home, especially with his sister’s upcoming wedding, but he had not yet decided. He had recently worked in Raipur to save money and had returned to Delhi just before Diwali.
His family in Ganderbal has requested that his body be brought back for final rites. Local authorities in Kashmir have stated that DNA testing will be conducted before the body is released to the family.
The death of Bilal Ahmad has added another layer of grief to a tragedy that has shaken both Delhi and Kashmir, leaving behind a devastated family and a community that knew him as a gentle, hardworking man trying to build a life far from home.
