A car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort killed 12 and injured 20, marking the capital’s first major terror strike in over a decade. Former top cops link it to Jaish-e-Mohammed’s new doctor-led module and call it a desperate suicide attack.
New Delhi: The car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday evening, which killed 12 people and injured over 20 others, sent shockwaves across the country — marking the first such explosion in the national capital in over a decade. The last major blast in Delhi occurred on September 7, 2011. The explosion, which ripped through a Hyundai i20 at 6:52 pm near the Red Fort Metro Station, left behind mangled bodies, gutted vehicles, and scenes of horror in one of Delhi’s busiest areas.
This wasn’t just another terror attack. It carried a disturbing message — that India’s educated, white-collar professionals are now being lured into the world of violent extremism.
When Asianet Newsable English spoke to two of India’s top former IPS officers, Yashovardhan Jha Azad and SP Vaid, both said the same thing in different ways: this is a new and deeply worrying phase of radicalisation.
Also read: Faridabad Terror Bust Case: Did Al-Falah University’s Facilities Help in Producing High-Grade Explosives?
‘Radicalised Educated Youth a New Concern’
Former Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau and Secretary (Security) Yashovardhan Jha Azad didn’t mince words.
“Delhi was safe for so many years now and this incident has brought back into spotlight. How the terrorist agencies continue to be active in destabilising our country. The module which has surfaced in Faridabad, which has links to UP and J&K is a tremendous achievement by the security forces and the arrests have also led to radicalised section of educated community which is extremely important phase in this terrorist movement.”
He also referred to another recent case — the ricin plot unearthed in Gujarat — calling it a chilling reminder of how far these networks are willing to go.
“The Ricin discovery in the Gujarat module is another successful seizure by the security forces,” the former IPS officer said.
Ricin, a deadly toxin derived from castor plant seeds, is considered one of the most lethal substances known to man.
Recently, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested three ISIS-linked terrorists, including a doctor, who were allegedly planning to use ricin and other toxic agents for mass attacks. Their reconnaissance of crowded food markets in Delhi, Naroda, and Lucknow has alarmed security agencies.
On Monday’s attack, Yashovardhan Jha Azad added:
“The incident which has happened opposite Red Fort is extremely distressing. I think the security agencies will be able to find all the strands and will certainly lead to perpetrators and I hope the investigation will give the results.”
The “Doctors of Death”: White Coats, Dark Links
Just hours before the Red Fort blast, three doctors — Dr Muzammil Ganaie, Adeel Ahmad Rather, and Shaheen Saeed — were arrested in Faridabad. Their names sound ordinary, respectable. But their alleged roles are anything but.
Authorities say these medical professionals were part of a white-collar terror module, helping bridge the worlds of radical ideology and scientific precision. A staggering 2,900 kg of explosives was recovered in the Faridabad operation, linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammed network.
In total, eight people have now been arrested across Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, allegedly connected to the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind groups.
Yashovardhan Jha Azad said this disturbing pattern isn’t entirely new — but the scale and sophistication are alarming.
“Radicalisation attempts are on since very long time. You must have seen the ISIS module. Youths from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh were attracted to them. Some of them were educated also. In their interrogation, they told how they were impressed with the ISIS. So this attempt was on since long.”
“Doctors are being involved in large number which is a new trend,” he added.
Changing Faces, Changing Tactics
Former Jammu and Kashmir DGP SP Vaid believes the evolution of terrorist strategy explains why professionals are being drawn into the fold.
“They continuously change their tactics because they were not succeeding in their normal routine. So they keep changing their tactics and the reason why they change this time also.”
For security agencies, this means the battlefield is no longer just in border villages or training camps — it’s in universities, hospitals, and social media echo chambers.
A Deadly Blueprint
Yashovardhan Jha Azad connected the dots between Monday’s attack and earlier urban bombings that scarred India’s memory.
“The plan was to create havoc in public. They were trying to replicate the same incidents which were taking place in early this century. In 2005, attack took place in Sarojini Nagar market, this time they carried out near metro station in Chandani Chowk area which is also a sensitive area. They work like this,” he said.
SP Vaid agreed, suggesting the Red Fort attack was a “desperate attempt”.
“I think this was an ISI plot through a Jaish module. They were looking for a major terror attack because they were not successful since 2014. I think yesterday’s attack was a desperate attempt after the security forces were able to uncover this conspiracy and arrest all these doctors and recover the arms and ammunition.”
“So it’s a desperate attempt to go for immediate suicide. It is a suicide bomber attack executed by Dr Umar Nabi reportedly from Pulwama. This is what it is,” the former J&K DGP said.
“Becoming a doctor is the ultimate dream of youth in the Kashmir Valley. Despite becoming a doctor, if you get radicalised and get ready to kill your own countrymen and break your own country, then imagine the kind of radicalisation that is taking place. The country will have to see what it is doing on this Front…This is a big challenge, and work needs to be done on this Front,” he said in an separate interview with ANI.
When asked whether this indicated an intelligence failure, Vaid was firm.
“I would not call it an intelligence failure. Because 99 times you may avert but 100th time they will succeed,” he told Asianet Newsable English
The Shadow Wing: Women in Terror
The arrests also include Dr Shaheen, a Lucknow-based woman doctor accused of setting up the women’s recruitment wing of the Jaish-e-Mohammed — known as Jamaat ul-Mominaat.
Also read: Jaish-e-Mohammed Launches Online ‘Jihadi Course’ For Women; Masood Azhar’s Sisters To Lead
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The Road Ahead
A high alert remains in place across Delhi and other metro cities. The Delhi Police have invoked UAPA sections, and forensic teams are combing through every shred of evidence from the blast site.
But beyond the smoke and debris, the Red Fort explosion has exposed a deeper threat — one that festers in classrooms, clinics, and chatrooms.
It’s the story of how terror is changing its face — and how the line between healer and destroyer has blurred in a chilling new way.