India is in the throes of a sweeping counter-terror crackdown following the deadly blast near Delhi’s iconic Red Fort on November 11, 2025—a jarring attack that has left at least thirteen dead and over twenty injured, according to multiple reports. The explosion, which Indian authorities have labeled a "heinous terror incident, perpetrated by anti-national forces," has triggered a wave of raids, arrests, and security operations across the country, stretching from the heart of the capital to the distant valleys of Kashmir and the border state of Punjab.
According to STATE TIMES NEWS, the Jammu and Kashmir police launched extensive raids on November 13 in Baramulla, Pulwama, and Shopian districts, targeting what officials described as "subversive and law-defying elements." These operations, aimed at restoring public order and civic assurance, resulted in the detention of six individuals linked to subversive networks. Twenty-two properties associated with overground workers (OGWs)—local supporters who provide logistical or financial help to militant groups—were searched, with twenty OGWs bound down under legal orders and two jailed under preventive detention. The crackdown also saw sixteen cordon and search operations (CASOs) across the valley, with nearly 300 vehicles checked and several absconding suspects traced.
In Pulwama, the focus was on the Jammu and Kashmir Nationals Operating from Pakistan (JKNOP), while in Shopian, the search extended to members and associates of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and JKNOPs. Police stated that these efforts were part of a broader attempt to disrupt networks providing any kind of assistance—logistical, financial, or otherwise—to terror-related activities.
The scale of the crackdown in Kashmir is remarkable. As reported by WION, more than 300 locations linked to Jamaat-e-Islami were raided on November 13 alone, with authorities acting on what they described as credible intelligence about efforts by JeI-linked groups to revive their activities in the region. Several suspects were arrested in connection with the Red Fort blast, which India's federal Cabinet unequivocally labeled as a terror attack, although no new evidence was released to the public. The investigation, officials said, began with a probe into anti-India posters that appeared in Srinagar in October, threatening attacks on Indian troops—a chilling prelude to the events that would follow.
Among those arrested were at least seven individuals, including two doctors, in Faridabad near New Delhi. Police seized weapons and a significant cache of bomb-making material, suggesting a well-resourced and organized cell. Local media, as cited by WION, reported that the explosion near the Red Fort may have been triggered either deliberately by a suspect to avoid arrest or accidentally during transport of the explosives. Delhi police, for their part, have said they are investigating "all possible angles, including a terror attack, an accidental blast or any kind of failure in the car."
The investigation has also shone a spotlight on what officials are calling the "Doctor Module"—a network of radicalized medical professionals allegedly at the core of the Red Fort conspiracy. As detailed by News18, the State Investigation Agency (SIK) searched at least fourteen locations in Jammu and Kashmir on November 13, aiming to dismantle this emerging network. Intelligence sources described the crackdown as a deliberate attempt to trace not just the operatives, but also the ideological handlers, digital cells, and financial channels supporting the radicalization of doctors for high-value terror plots.
Officials pointed to a "recurring trend" of radical clerics and underground Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) influencers exploiting professional isolation among doctors to recruit them for extremist causes. The current probe has drawn striking parallels with the 2011 Delhi High Court blast, which also involved ammonium nitrate-based IEDs and radicalized doctors from Kashmir. In the 2025 case, key suspects include Dr. Umar Nabi of Pulwama, Dr. Muzammil Ganai, and Dr. Adeel Rather, all reportedly influenced by cleric Irfan Waghey and remote JeM handlers in Pakistan. The attack is widely viewed as retaliation for India’s recent air strikes—dubbed Operation Sindoor—on JeM’s Bahawalpur headquarters and other terror sites.
While Kashmir and the capital remain under intense scrutiny, Punjab has also emerged as a frontline in the battle against cross-border terror networks. On November 13, Punjab Police announced the dismantling of a grenade attack module allegedly backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), arresting ten operatives in Ludhiana. Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav emphasized that the module, guided by Pakistan-based handlers through Malaysia-based intermediaries, was tasked with coordinating the pickup and delivery of a hand grenade and executing an attack in a crowded area to stoke unrest in Punjab. "Ludhiana Commissionerate Police busts an ISI-#Pakistan backed grenade attack module and arrests 10 key operatives of foreign-based handlers," Yadav declared on social media.
The Punjab crackdown is part of a broader pattern of coordinated raids across India. Security agencies have seized massive quantities of explosives in recent days: 358 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate, a Krinkov assault rifle, a pistol, 91 live rounds, and additional magazines were found in a house near Al Falah University in Dhauj. Just days earlier, police recovered over 2,500 kg of explosives and inflammables from Dahar Colony in Fatehpur Taga village.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has extended the crackdown to five other states—Gujarat, West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Haryana—targeting an Al-Qaeda-linked network involving illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. According to WION, these individuals allegedly used forged identity papers to enter India and fund extremist activities. While there is no confirmed link yet between this module and the Red Fort blast, the timing and scope of the raids have heightened national alarm.
The Red Fort explosion has also reignited long-standing tensions between India and Pakistan, both of whom claim the disputed territory of Kashmir. India has consistently accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in the region, a charge Islamabad denies, framing the conflict instead as a legitimate freedom struggle. The specter of past attacks—such as the 1996 Lajpat Nagar bombing and the 2008 serial blasts in Delhi—looms large, reminding many of the enduring threat posed by militant groups operating in and around Kashmir.
As investigations continue, authorities warn that the emergence of "white-collar radicalization networks"—particularly among professionals like doctors—poses a uniquely insidious challenge to India’s internal security. With the National Investigation Agency and Delhi Police piecing together the evidence, the country remains on high alert, determined to stamp out terror networks before they can strike again.
