The hidden wars waged by the Indian intelligence forces round the clock often go unnoticed and unsaid. They track culprits, chase whispers, dig below the known facts and foil terror plots thus invigorate the national security apparatus and save lives. The unsung sagas of the intelligence network of India that doesn’t hit headlines speaks leaps and bounds beyond the said intelligence lapses. This is the fact with respect to the recent Delhi blast as well.
What has hit the headlines was the loss of 13 lives during the massive explosion near the Red Fort. Ofcourse this is an unfortunate incident that slipped out of the control of India’s security and intelligence forces. But what hasn’t hit the headlines and make noise is the infinite number of large-scale terror plots or security threats that are foiled by the intelligence forces as an impact of their incredible timeliness, sensitive security analysis and their ability of tracing not just facts and people but their roots across borders.
Let us decode these incredible adventures of the intelligence forces that have successfully punctured a series of terror plots prior to the Red Fort blast, hence saving thousands of lives and upholding the security architecture of the country. Tracing through the timeline, unleashes the fact that India’s intelligence and security personnel have dismantled a massive terror plot that was articulated by the terror gangs in commemoration of the 26/11 incident which is set to be on November 26, 2025. Let us dig these facts that are indeed buried beneath.
On October 19 at Srinagar, At a government medical college, a poster was found on the notice board that mentioned about Jaish-e-Mohammed. Police officials set out to bust this poster propaganda and arrested Irfan Ahmed, a paramedic from the government medical college, Srinagar. He was a kingpin in radicalizing the doctors. The J&K police at that time didn’t know the fact that they were interrogating a key culprit who is part of the larger conspiracy that was aiming to attack the heart of India. His arrest helped to unveil the intricacies of a tightly knitted complex terror menace. The investigators realized the fact that the terror network was using an advanced encrypted communication network to escape the eyes of the intelligence forces.
In November, based on the preliminary details given by Irfan, the police made a series of arrests and intense interrogations across Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana and other regions. Based on the CCTV footage analysis the police found that in the hostel locker of Dr. Adil Ahmad Rather in Anantnag, AK-56 and other hazardous weapons were present. His phone was recovered and the encrypted message revealed a chilling fact, “prepare assets for Delhi”. Thus, on November 6, Dr. Adil was arrested at Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Apparently, Dr. Adil was a doctor at a private hospital earning Rs. 4 lakh per month. This also raises a serious question regarding the extent of radicalization accomplished to fulfill illicit ideological motives. The so-called elite and educated class is not an exception in fueling the ideological ambitions.
On November 7, the anti-terrorism squad of Gujarat arrested Dr. Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed. He was a bio-weapon expert and generated ricin(a highly toxic and poisonous protein extracted from the seeds of castor oil plant). On November 9, in Banaskantha, Gujarat, the security officials arrested two more doctors Azad Suleman Sheikh and Mohammed Suhail, a key suspect in the underground terror network that was silently brewing to blast at a massive scale.
During the interrogation, Dr. Adil also opened about the bombing plot and the explosives stored at the Faridabad apartment. Thus, thousands of kgs of explosives infused with ammonium nitrate and other arms and munitions were recovered on November 10 morning. Dr. Adil also revealed details about his partners Dr. Muzammil Shakil and Dr. Shaheen Shaheed. Based on this information, the police personnel of J&K and Haryana in a joint operation arrested Dr. Shakeel at Al Falah University in Haryana. Later Dr. Shaheen, a gynaecologist and a female suicide bomber was arrested, who is believed to be closely associated with the women wing of the JeM terror network.
During the interrogation, Dr. Shakeel revealed about Dr. Umar Nabi, the key suspect in the Delhi blast case. Through the CCTV analysis it has been found that Umar Nabi is the person who drew the Hyundai i20 car and was responsible for the blast that killed innocent lives near Red Fort in Delhi. It is also believed that following the arrest of his close aides, Umar Nabi was under panic and stress. Thus, he initiated the explosion at the Red Fort metro station abruptly, devoid of the earlier plan.
From the JeM poster drama at the government medical college in Srinagar to the recovery of massive explosives in Faridabad apartment to arresting the key conspirators, Indian intelligence officials and other security personnel are running on their toes round the clock. If not for the eagle-eyed vigilance and the foresightedness of the intelligence officials, the catastrophe would have been unimaginable. With more than 3,000kg of explosives the casualties would have been 30 times higher and massive.
The Delhi Red Fort blast is thus not an overt intelligence failure. It is a slice of the intelligence apparatus that slipped out of hand while the officers are working with utmost vigilance round the clock across the country. Witnessing the scale of crackdown and hunt by the security officials, out of panic, the suicide bomber triggered the explosion abruptly, leading to less intense casualties than what was plotted by the terror network. If the Indian government and its security wings were not capable of bursting the intricate terror module that was plotted to entangle and dismantle the security architecture of India, the repercussions would have been beyond estimation and anticipation.
The Indian intel services, who strive round the clock to secure the nation and its lives are indeed a nightmare to the terror menace. The unsung stories of security and its architects who fight silent battles everyday may not hit the headlines, but are protecting the people by unlocking the complex terror knots with utmost vigilance and valour.
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