In what investigators describe as a chilling attempt to replicate the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, intelligence agencies have uncovered a major terror plot that aimed to unleash a series of coordinated strikes across Delhi. Notably, the Modi government has also recognised the car explosion as a terrorist attack.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, on Wednesday evening (November 12, 2025) adopted a resolution expressing its profound grief over the loss of lives in the terrorist attack. It reiterated India’s unwavering commitment to a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Now, two days after the car blast near the Red Fort killed 13 and injured many, it has emerged that the terrorists were targetting top landmarks, including Red Fort, India Gate, Constitution Club, and the Gauri Shankar Temple, NDTV reported citing sources. The group had also planned strikes at busy railway stations and shopping malls across India.
Doctors by the bay, terrorists by the night?
Much like the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which saw shootings and explosions at 12 key locations including the Taj and Oberoi Hotels, the Delhi plot was designed to trigger simultaneous chaos and panic. Investigators further revealed that the module, believed to be linked to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), had been conspiring since January to execute these attacks.
The group had manufactured and stored nearly 200 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to target high-profile areas in Delhi, Gurugram, and Faridabad, the NDTV report added. The terrorists recruited radicalised doctors from Pulwama, Shopian, and Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir, who used their “white collar” professions as a cover.
Among those arrested are Dr Shaheen Saeed, Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganale, and Dr Adeel Rather, all associated with Al-Falah University in Faridabad. Dr Umar Nabi, believed to be the suicide bomber who died in the Red Fort blast, was also part of the module. He was earlier seen near Sunehri Masjid parking lot and had stayed at a mosque on Asaf Ali Road.
Red Fort blast: What happened on the night of the attack?
At 6:52 pm on November 10, the high-intensity blast occurred on a Hyundai i20 car in slow-moving evening traffic near the Red Fort Metro Station. CCTV footage confirmed that Dr Umar was driving the car at the time of the explosion. The vehicle exploded with enough force to kill nine people and injure several others.
Delhi Police later found that Umar also owned a red Ford EcoSport (DL 10 CK 0458), which was seized by Faridabad Police. The car was part of the same terror trail, and forensic teams are matching its contents with materials used in the Red Fort blast.
Massive explosives cache recovered in Faridabad
Following the explosion, Indian agencies intensified their crackdown in Faridabad and Mewat, leading to the discovery of an enormous stockpile of explosives. In a series of coordinated raids between November 8 and 10, authorities seized nearly 3,000 kilograms of bomb-making materials, including detonators, timers, and assault rifles.
Among the key recoveries were 2,563 kg of explosives from Imam Hafeez Mohammad Ishtiyaq’s residence in Faridabad’s Dhera Colony; 358 kg of explosives and weapons from Al-Falah Medical College, where several suspects worked. The seizures confirmed the existence of a large-scale, well-organised terror network operating under the guise of a medical institution..
NIA takes over investigation
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has formally handed over the investigation to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has constituted a dedicated team led by senior officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police and above.
The NIA’s probe has linked the Delhi blast to an earlier FIR registered in Naugam, Srinagar, on October 19, 2025, over objectionable posters that hinted at extremist propaganda. Arrests across Jammu and Kashmir, including Maulvi Irfan Ahmad Waghay from Shopian and Zamir Ahmad from Ganderbal, helped trace the wider network that funneled explosives and funds to the Delhi cell.
Investigators are now probing whether the Red Fort car blast was a pre-planned strike or a desperate act by fugitive Dr Umar, who may have triggered the explosion while fleeing intensified police action.
The terror trail widens from Delhi to Kashmir
Probe agency NIA is now tracing the module’s larger web across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir, working with state units to identify possible sleeper cells. Sources say the JeM module’s operations were “highly compartmentalised,” involving over a dozen handlers and recruiters spread across regions.
Officials suspect that the failed attempt to strike during Diwali may have prompted the group to act prematurely, resulting in the deadly Red Fort blast that ultimately exposed their entire network.