Red Fort terrorists planned Pulwama-type attack in Kashmir, switched to Delhi after crackdown: Report

Terrorists behind Delhi’s Red Fort blast had originally wanted to carry out a Pulwama-type attack in Jammu and Kashmir but the arrest of associates forced the change of plans to carry out an attack in Delhi, sources have told CNN-News 18.

On Monday, a slow-moving car exploded at a traffic signal near Red Fort Metro Station in the evening. The blast killed 13 people and injured many. Investigators have linked the blast to a ‘white collar’ module that the Jammu and Kashmir Police was after that stretched from J&K to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

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J&K Police sources told CNN-News 18 that the ‘core team’ behind the Red Fort blast comprised five people: Umar, the person driving the car at the time of explosion; cleric Irfan; Adeel Rather and Muzammil Shakeel, who are both doctors; and Shaheen Sayeed, a woman believed to be Muzammil’s girlfriend.

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“The woman financed Muzammil as she was his girlfriend, but we are still not sure how involved she was. Apart from this, there are two people who seem to be important. These are Adeel’s brother, Muzaffar, who has fled to Afghanistan; and Aamir, who bought the car,” a source said.

The source said that Muzammil’s arrest in Haryana’s Faridabad foiled the team’s plan to carry out the attack in J&K.

“We have also learnt that they wanted to execute the plan in Kashmir with the help of an explosives-laden car and fuel oil. Exactly like what happened in Pulwama. But Muzammil’s arrest ruined their plans, and Umar, in haste, targeted Red Fort,” the source said.

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In the Pulwama attack in 2019, a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into a CRPF convoy and killed 40 personnel. It was the deadliest attack on soldiers in J&K in decades.

The Pulwama attack led to India bombing a Jaish-e-Mohammed —the group that claimed responsibility for the attack— facility in Pakistan’s Balakot later that month. Pakistan also attacked India the next day and the two countries’ air forces fought battles in the air.

Crackdown led to change of plans

Before the core team could go ahead with their plan for strikes in J&K, Muzammil and others were arrested.

Just hours ahead of the Red Fort blast, the J&K Police had announced that three members of the ‘core team’ —Muzammil, Adeel, and Irfan— had been arrested.

In addition to their arrests, the police announced the recovery of around 2,900 kilograms of explosives and bombmaking material, including explosives, chemicals, reagents, inflammable material, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote controls, timers, and metal sheets.

The explosives were recovered in Haryana's Faridabad where Muzammil, Adeel, and Umar lived.

As per sources quoted above, it was this crackdown that forced Umar —the only member of the core team at large— to change plans and carry out an attack in Delhi in haste.

Sources also told CNN-News 18 about the foreign hand in the plot.

They said that at least three foreigners were involved in the plot, including one ‘Ukasa’ and one ‘Hashim’.

Of them, Ukasa and an unnamed third person are believed to be Kashmiris but they claim to be in Afghanistan, sources said.

They said that Muzammil, Muzaffar, and Umar were provided accomodation by Ukasa when the trio went to Turkey in 2022.