Connecting the Dots: Delhi Red Fort Blast and Recent Terror-Related Arrests Across India

Delhi Red Fort Car Blast: The vehicle that exploded has been identified as a Hyundai i20.

New Delhi:

In a troubling sequence of events, a Gujarat doctor was arrested with three handguns and materials for creating ricin, a potential bioweapon. Simultaneously, another individual from Jammu and Kashmir was apprehended in Haryana possessing 2,900 kg of explosive substances, including 350 kg of ammonium nitrate, along with two assault rifles. A third person, also from J&K, was detained in Uttar Pradesh for displaying posters celebrating Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based terrorist organization.

These seemingly unrelated arrests occurred Sunday night and Monday morning, followed by a devastating blast Monday evening in Delhi's crowded Red Fort area.

The explosion killed nine people and injured 20 others when a Hyundai i20 car with Haryana license plate HR26 CE 7674 approached the Subhash Marg traffic signal at Gate 1 of the Lal Qila metro station and detonated. The force of the blast ignited 22 nearby vehicles and caused catastrophic damage to victims' bodies.

Whether these terrorist arrests and the Red Fort car explosion are connected remains uncertain. It's premature to draw conclusions, which explains Home Minister Amit Shah's reluctance to comment.

He only confirmed that an investigation involving forensic scientists and counter-terrorism experts from the NIA and NSG, along with Delhi Police's Special Branch, had been initiated. "We are exploring all possibilities... and will conduct a thorough investigation, taking all possibilities into account."

The blast—powerful enough to dismember victims—has deeply unsettled the national capital, particularly following news of terrorist arrests and the discovery of powerful explosives and deadly toxins.

Gujarat Police's Anti-Terror Squad arrested Dr. Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed from Adalaj near Gandhinagar on Sunday. He possessed three handguns—two Austrian-made Glock pistols and an Italian Beretta—plus ammunition.

Authorities also recovered four liters of castor oil, commonly available but potentially usable for producing ricin—a highly toxic substance that kills by preventing cells from creating essential proteins, resulting in cell death and organ failure. Ricin can be weaponized as powder or mist.

Gujarat ATS sources told NDTV the doctor may have been preparing for a poison-based terrorist attack targeting sensitive locations in Delhi, Lucknow, or Ahmedabad.

"He had already begun the necessary research, procured the equipment and raw materials, and initiated the initial chemical processing," revealed Gujarat ATS Deputy-Inspector General Sunil Joshi.

Preliminary inquiries describe Saiyed as "highly-educated but radicalized," planning to gather funds and recruit individuals for major terrorist operations. He reportedly maintained connections with the Islamic State-Khorasan Province, a regional branch of ISIS known for particularly brutal attacks, including a 2016 Kabul bombing killing 97 people and two 2018 Pakistan attacks claiming 131 lives.

Almost simultaneously, Jammu and Kashmir police conducted raids in Haryana's Faridabad at two residential buildings connected to Dr. Mujammil Shakeel, discovering nearly 3,000kg of bomb-making materials, including 350kg of ammonium nitrate, detonators, assault rifles, and ammunition.

Shakeel, employed at Al-Falah Hospital in Faridabad, was the second J&K doctor arrested in this operation. Earlier, Dr. Adil Ahmad Rather was apprehended in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur after CCTV footage identified him putting up posters supporting Jaish-e-Mohammed in J&K's Nowgam alongside Shakeel.

A third doctor, Shaheen Shahid, was subsequently arrested for allowing Shakeel to store an assault rifle and ammunition in her Maruti Suzuki Swift.

Sources informed NDTV that the ammonium nitrate recovered could potentially create an explosion with a 100-meter blast radius, depending on the charge used.

J&K Police also investigated the Government Medical College in Anantnag district, where Adil Rather worked until October last year. In a locker assigned to him (which he apparently still accessed), officers discovered an assault rifle and ammunition.

Sources revealed late Monday that one owner of the car that exploded in Delhi was a man named Tariq from J&K's Pulwama district. Both Shakeel and Rather are undergoing further interrogation.

Regarding the Delhi Red Fort car blast, no concrete link exists yet between these arrests and the explosion, nor is there definitive proof it was a terrorist attack.

What's confirmed is that a powerful blast originated from the rear of a white Hyundai i20 with Haryana license plates that stopped at a traffic signal in Delhi's Red Fort area. One of the car's owners was identified as Tariq from J&K's Pulwama.

It's worth noting that in India, vehicles are often resold without updating registration and ownership details as legally required. Therefore, whether Tariq is the current owner remains unclear. The car's original owner, Salman, is in police custody.

India's premier anti-terror agency NIA and the elite National Security Guard are leading the investigation, with Delhi Police's Special Cell also involved.

Delhi remains on high alert, along with multiple states including UP and Rajasthan (which share borders with Delhi) and Bihar (which faces an imminent Assembly election). Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have heightened security measures, and the typically open India-Nepal border is under surveillance.