New Delhi, November 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The November 2025 Red Fort blast marked a turning point in India’s counter-terrorism strategy, exposing the evolving nature of terror networks and prompting a wider security offensive against domestic and foreign-linked modules, according to officials.
The module involved highly educated individuals, including doctors, who allegedly procured large quantities of ammonium nitrate and other bomb-making materials without attracting attention. On November 10, 2025, an explosive-laden vehicle driven by Dr Umar Nabi detonated prematurely, killing at least nine people and damaging several vehicles in New Delhi. Investigators believe Nabi had planned a much larger vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attack around December 6, the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition.
Officials said the investigation exposed a homegrown network inspired by outfits such as Al Qaeda and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Multiple agencies coordinated their efforts, leading to the dismantling of the module within 24 hours. The probe subsequently expanded to the Faridabad network, radicalisation activities, recruitment channels, funding and foreign operatives allegedly guiding attacks in India.
The government introduced the PRAHAAR: National Counter Terrorism Policy and Strategy on February 23, 2026, with a stated zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism. The framework focuses on terror modules, their operations, radicalisation, recruitment, funding and foreign links. Officials said it also helped target the Shahzad Bhatti network, which allegedly recruited young people through social media for activities including surveillance at sensitive locations, targeted killings, low-intensity blasts, drug trafficking and circulation of counterfeit currency.
The wider operations also targeted Jaish-e-Mohammed-inspired modules, Bangladesh-based groups allegedly threatening security in the Northeast and West Bengal, and Khalistan-linked networks. Officials said diplomatic efforts against terrorism and narcotics had also intensified, resulting in the extradition of 73 high-profile fugitives from abroad over the past year.
The Red Fort investigation reportedly began after posters sympathetic to Jaish-e-Mohammed appeared in Srinagar. Police arrested three locals — Arif Nisar Dar, Yasir-ul-Ashraf and Maqsood Ahmad Dar. Their questioning led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic who had become an Imam and was accused of supplying the posters and radicalising doctors linked to the Faridabad module.
Investigators subsequently arrested Dr Muzzamil Ahmad Ganaie of Pulwama and Dr Shaheen Sayeed of Lucknow. Police seized 2,900 kg of ammonium nitrate, along with sulphur and potassium nitrate. The probe identified Dr Nabi as a highly radicalised member of the group who had allegedly built a network across Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and was planning multiple VBIED attacks.
Officials said Nabi’s radicalisation was believed to have intensified after a 2021 visit to Türkiye with Dr Ganaie. The two were teaching at Al-Falah University in Faridabad and allegedly began procuring and storing bomb-making materials in large quantities after the trip.
An Intelligence Bureau official described the Faridabad case as a case study in the need to address multiple dimensions of the terror threat. Officials cited homegrown networks, Khalistan groups, Bangladesh-based outfits, the Shahzad Bhatti network, online radicalisation modules and Pakistan-based organisations, including Hizbul Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, among the security concerns.
The PRAHAAR framework, officials said, seeks to move the counter-terrorism response beyond individual incidents and address threats across multiple fronts, particularly as terror groups adapt their methods using rapidly evolving technology.
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