Inside the Delhi Red Fort Bombing: How a Network of Radicalized Doctors Planned India's Deadliest Terror Attack

15 people lost their lives in the Delhi Red Fort car explosion.

New Delhi:

The investigation into the November 10 Delhi Red Fort car bombing has uncovered a core group of 10 terrorists, including a specialized subset of 'terror doctors'. This devastating attack killed 15 people and injured more than a dozen when a suicide bomber detonated a Hyundai i20 loaded with ammonium nitrate fuel oil.

Officials informed NDTV that these 10 individuals likely operate within a module managed by Pakistan-based terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed. Leading this module are Pakistan-based operative Umar-bin-Khattab, also known as Hanjullah, and Maulvi Irfan Ahmed Waghe, an Islamic cleric from Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir.

Waghe, who has been arrested, functioned as the critical connection between the radicalized 'terror doctors' - recruited from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and J&K - and Jaish-e-Mohammed. He facilitated meetings with terrorists in Kashmir who provided assault rifles to the 'terror doctors'.

A second connection between Jaish and the Red Fort terrorists exists through Dr. Shahina Saeed, believed by investigators to hold a senior leadership position in the group's women's wing.

Dr. Saeed, a Lucknow resident, reportedly served as the financial supporter of this terrorist cell, which allegedly secured Rs 20 lakh as funding for the Red Fort attack and potentially others. She also stored one of the assault rifles, which was discovered in a Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire registered in her name.

Additionally, a newly purchased Maruti Brezza was found under her ownership.

Dr. Shahina Saeed.

Officials suspect Dr. Saeed may have acquired the vehicle as an escape option for the terrorists, as it doesn't match the profile of older, repeatedly resold vehicles typically used as car bombs.

Intelligence sources revealed to NDTV that Waghe played a pivotal role by radicalizing and converting the first member of this cell - Dr. Mujamil Shakeel, whom he encountered at the Government Medical College in Srinagar in 2023. Shakeel assisted Waghe in expanding the terrorist network by recruiting Dr. Adil Ahmed Rather, Dr. Umar Mohammed (who became the Red Fort suicide bomber), and Dr. Saeed.

Mujammil Shakeel (L) and Adil Ahmad Rather (R).

Dr. Saeed subsequently converted her brother, Dr. Pervez Anzari, an Assistant Professor at a Lucknow university. Waghe also recruited Dr. Farooq Ahmad Dar, who worked at another UP college.

While Dr. Anzari and Dr. Dar's specific functions remain unclear, they likely assisted in obtaining the substantial quantities of chemicals necessary for manufacturing the ammonium nitrate fuel oil explosive.

The ninth and tenth members of the cell were not medical professionals. The ninth was Amir Rashid Ali, a resident of J&K's Samboora, whose responsibility was to purchase the i20 that became the bomb.

Ali, the first person arrested in this case, was confronted by NDTV outside a Delhi court on Monday. When asked, "Who gave you the order to carry out this attack?", Ali, whose face was covered, looked at the camera but remained silent.

The investigation has revealed that the terrorists had planned to create as many as 32 car bombs, or Vehicular-Borne Improvised Explosive Devices, had they not been apprehended. The recovered explosives - nearly 3,000 kg - appears to confirm this intention.

The tenth member was Jasir Bilal Wani, who was apprehended by anti-terror agency NIA.

He provided support to Dr. Umar Mohammed, the suicide bomber. A resident of J&K's Anantnag, Wani allegedly modified drones in an attempt to create rockets prior to the Red Fort blast.