Red Fort Terror Probe Reveals Transnational Plot Led by Doctors, Turkish Handler; India, US Vow Action

The investigation into the Red Fort car bomb attack that killed 13 people on November 10 has revealed a white-collar, transnational terror network led by radicalised doctors, with digital trails linking the plot to Turkiye, Kashmir, and Haryana.

Image Source: PM NaMo

Key accused Dr Umar Un Nabi, a Kashmiri medical graduate, drove the explosive-laden Hyundai i20 that detonated near the Red Fort Metro station. His co-conspirators -- Dr Muzammil Ganaie, Dr Shaheen Shahid, and others -- allegedly operated from a covert cell at Al-Falah University in Faridabad, dubbed “Room 13,” according to security officials.

Authorities say the module was inspired and coordinated via encrypted apps like Threema and Signal, with instructions allegedly emanating from a Turkish-based handler codenamed ‘Ukasa’. CCTV footage and seized “Room 13 Diaries” revealed detailed plans for serial IED attacks in at least four Indian cities, including Ayodhya and Delhi, using modified vehicles and ammonium nitrate-based explosives.

Police recovered 2,900 kg of explosive materials, a cache of extremist literature, and encrypted communications. Notebooks found in Umar’s residence listed over 25 names, primarily from Kashmir and Faridabad, as part of an expanding “white-collar” terror ecosystem.

The US condemned the attack as a “heinous act of terror”, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning of its “potential to become something broader”. India’s Home Minister Amit Shah pledged the “strictest possible punishment” and convened a high-level security meeting with NSA Ajit Doval and IB Chief Tapan Deka.

Authorities are now coordinating with Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice for Dr Muzaffar Rather, suspected to have fled abroad. The NIA is expected to lead the wider investigation, amid fresh alerts across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.

The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) has suspended Al-Falah University, and the NAAC has served a show-cause notice for false accreditation claims. Meanwhile, Delhi’s commercial markets like Sadar Bazaar and Chandni Chowk have seen a sharp drop in footfall, and Lal Quila Metro Station remains shut amid heightened security.

A separate bioterror plot involving ricin was also foiled in Hyderabad, involving another radicalised doctor, signalling a possible wider trend of professional radicalisation and sleeper cell formation in urban India.

The Delhi car blast has triggered an aggressive national and international manhunt, and officials say more arrests and disclosures are expected in what is now being described as India’s most sophisticated urban terror plot in recent years.