VOI World/ Astha Pandey
Yesterday, India and Indian nationals all across the world were jolted by the Red Fort blast, a tragedy that left Delhi shaken and the entire country on edge. For many, it felt like a sudden tragedy, as an isolated act of violence at the heart of India’s capital.
But for the Indian intelligence and law-enforcement agencies, this was the culmination of weeks of heightened activity, conducting cross-state raids, intercepting communications and uncovering disturbing stockpiles of explosives that could have inflicted unimaginable damage on the nation, something much larger and far more orchestrated.
Throughout the month of October and early November 2025 amidst the festivities all over the country, multiple state police units and national agencies had been actively tracking suspicious movements across northern India from the narrow lanes of Faridabad to the border districts of Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab.
What they uncovered was not a single incident but a networked ecosystem of radicalised individuals, financiers, and logistical enablers. In a coordinated operation led by the Jammu & Kashmir Police, nearly 2,900 kg of explosive-making material including around 360 kg of suspected Ammonium Nitrate was seized from a rented apartment in Faridabad, belonging to Dr Muzammil Shakeel, a Kashmiri-origin medical practitioner.
However, one of the most shocking discoveries, Lucknow-based doctor Dr Shaheena Shahid was arrested after raids tied to the earlier Faridabad module.
Authorities say she was assigned the task of establishing the JeM-affi liated women’s wing ‘Jamaat-ul-Mominat’ in India and that weapons were found in her car registered in Faridabad. Her arrest connects directly with that of Dr Muzammil Ganaie of Pulwama, reinforcing how medical professionals and academics are being co-opted into terror recruitment and facilitation.
Right after the Delhi blast, several arrests have been made from Al-Falah University, Faridabad. Following the investigation, alongside the discovered chemical stockpile, police recovered AK-47-calibre weapons, pistols, magazines, over 20 electronic timers, remote-control circuits, and triggering devices.
However, the arrests didn’t stop there. Two other doctors and several students were detained across Anantnag, Shopian and Srinagar, allegedly forming part of what investigators described as a “white-collar terror ecosystem” where the educated, well-placed individuals who had the skills and resources to hide in plain sight while offering ideological and material aid to terror handlers.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Police had already been running parallel investigations into pro-Khalistan and Pakistan-linked modules. In a series of raids through mid-2025, the force arrested 13 individuals, including three minors, and recovered rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), RDX, and other arms from across the border districts.
Officials in Punjab and Delhi share a common worry that these scattered cells, though regionally and with roots are distinct, may operate within an interlinked network of radicalisation, sharing resources and techniques under the guidance of foreign handlers.
Forensic teams from Delhi’s Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) are still analysing the samples recovered both from the Faridabad seizures and the Red Fort blast site. Preliminary results point to ammonium nitrate–based compounds, similar to those unearthed in the earlier raids.
However, agencies have so far refrained from directly linking the Red Fort blast to any one group or the previously busted Faridabad module, a caution born out of the complexity of inter-state terror fi nancing and execution. The forensic cross-match, once confi rmed, will likely determine whether the materials were drawn from the same sources.
What makes these findings particularly chilling is the profile of the accused. It’s not always the outsider who wages war on India, sometimes it’s those who live by India, but not for India.
The recent findings and revelation that doctors, professionals, and educated citizens could be complicit in plots against their own country underscores an uncomfortable truth.
The heartbreaking Pulwama attack had already exposed the dangers of internal collusion, when local logistical support not just provided funds and shelter to amplified foreign terror plans.
The recent arrests only reinforce that threat, suggesting a shift from foreign infiltration to internal radicalisation. As the investigations unfold, what stands out is the sheer diligence of India’s security grid. The swift coordination among state police forces, intelligence bureaus, the NIA, and local law-enforcement units prevented what officials fear could have been multiple coordinated attacks.
Every kilogram of explosive seized, every handler tracked, and every suspicious transfer intercepted represents a silent victory in a war most citizens never see.
The real battle now extends beyond security agencies. In an age of misinformation, radical messaging and online recruitment, national vigilance must also come from the public through awareness, responsible reporting and an unflinching commitment to national integrity.
Because India’s greatest strength has always been the same not merely the might of its forces, but the conscience of its people.
