New Delhi: A shocking new chapter in India’s fight against terrorism has emerged with the discovery of a white collar terror network operating out of Faridabad, linked to the deadly car bomb explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort. What has stunned investigators is not only the scale of the plot but also the profile of those involved doctors, university students, and a religious preacher, all educated individuals who used their professional status to conceal their extremist activities.
The network first came to light when the Jammu and Kashmir Police detained a Haryana-based preacher named Maulvi Ishtiyaq. He was living in a rented accommodation on the campus of Al Falah University in Faridabad, where police discovered more than two thousand five hundred kilograms of explosive substances, including ammonium nitrate, potassium chlorate, and sulphur. The discovery followed a series of coordinated raids across Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, revealing what officers described as a white collar terror ecosystem that had quietly taken root in the heart of India’s academic community.
Investigators say the network’s members were not ordinary militants but educated professionals who provided logistical, technical, and financial support to extremist organizations. Their operations were linked to banned Pakistan-based groups Jaish e Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat ul Hind, both notorious for orchestrating terror attacks in India. The seizure of such a massive quantity of explosives indicated that the group was preparing for multiple high-intensity attacks in the national capital region. Police sources confirmed that the Faridabad cell may have supplied materials or logistical assistance for the car bomb blast near the Red Fort earlier this week, which killed at least twelve people.
Among those arrested were five doctors, including a woman, all connected to the School of Medical Sciences and Research at Al Falah University. The institution, located about fifty kilometers from Delhi, started its MBBS program in 2019, and around forty percent of its students are from Jammu and Kashmir. The doctors identified as Dr Umar Muhammad, Dr Adil Ahmad Rather, Dr Muzamil Ganaie, and others were found to have links with Jaish e Mohammed. Dr Umar Muhammad, a native of Pulwama, was allegedly the suicide bomber who carried out the Red Fort attack. Police believe he acted after the larger terror plan was exposed.
Dr Adil Ahmad, a senior doctor at the university for three years, lived on campus but rented an additional room nearby where police found a Beretta pistol, IED-making notes, and other bomb components. The same network included Dr Shaheen Saeedi, a woman doctor from Lucknow who was accused of leading the Indian branch of the women’s division of Jaish e Mohammed under the direction of Sadia Azhar, sister of the group’s founder Masood Azhar. A Russian-made rifle was found in her car. Another suspect, Dr Ahmad Mohiyuddin from Hyderabad, who studied medicine in China and later ran a shawarma shop, was arrested in Gujarat after his communication with the module was traced.
The preacher, Maulvi Ishtiyaq, is believed to have coordinated safe houses and managed the transport of explosive materials between different locations. He is now in Srinagar for detailed interrogation. Investigators say he played a crucial role in maintaining the network’s secrecy and provided religious cover for the group’s radicalization process. His arrest marked a turning point in uncovering the extent of the terror operations hidden behind academic walls.
The raids that followed led to more arrests across Jammu and Kashmir, including Arif Nisar Dar, Yasir ul Ashraf, Makhsood Ahmad Dar, Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, and Sameer Ahmad Ahangar, all of whom allegedly assisted the doctor-led terror cell. From their homes and lockers, police recovered nearly two thousand nine hundred kilograms of ammonium nitrate and other explosive precursors, timers, detonators, and foreign-made weapons. The sheer amount of material indicated an advanced stage of planning and coordination.
According to security officials, the group’s activities represent a disturbing transformation in terrorism. The shift from rural, gun-wielding insurgents to urban professionals using universities and hospitals as shields has made detection far more difficult. Investigators describe the cell as educated, technologically skilled, and ideologically driven. They used encrypted digital channels to communicate and relied on academic institutions to move unnoticed.
Experts believe the rise of white collar terrorism marks a new threat to national security. The involvement of doctors and educated youth shows that radicalization is no longer confined to marginalized or impoverished groups. Instead, it is seeping into educated and socially active communities, where ideological manipulation can be more dangerous. Officials warn that such individuals can exploit their knowledge, networks, and access to resources to plan sophisticated attacks without drawing suspicion.
If the explosives in Faridabad had not been discovered in time, investigators say Delhi and nearby areas could have witnessed a chain of devastating bombings. Forensic experts found that the car bomb near the Red Fort was made using ammonium nitrate, the same substance seized from the university premises. The Red Fort blast, which occurred at 6:52 in the evening on a busy Monday, initially puzzled investigators because it lacked the usual fragments found in typical militant attacks. It was only after examining the chemical residues that they confirmed the connection to the Faridabad module.
The case has prompted nationwide concern about campus security, the misuse of educational institutions, and the growing influence of extremist propaganda among young professionals. Authorities are now calling for tighter surveillance and counter-radicalization programs across universities and medical colleges. Police are also tracing international funding routes to identify whether the module received financial aid from foreign handlers.
The discovery of the Faridabad module has changed the way India views terrorism. It is no longer a problem confined to remote areas or uneducated recruits. It now wears the face of professionals in white coats and educated preachers who exploit their intellect for destruction. The story of the white collar terror network stands as a chilling reminder that knowledge without conscience can be as dangerous as ignorance with hate.