Red Fort blast latest: Turkey link, Telegram groups key focus of NIA probe

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has officially stepped in, taking charge of the probe after initial leads suggested the chilling possibility of a terror conspiracy. Two days after a deadly explosion near Delhi’s historic Red Fort claimed 12 lives and left several others injured, the national capital remains under an intense security blanket. Armed personnel man the borders, vehicles are being stopped and searched at key intersections, and the city hums with the unease of heightened vigilance.

At the blast site itself, where a Hyundai i20 was reduced to twisted metal on Monday evening, security forces continue to hold their ground. Paramilitary troops guard every entry and exit point of the capital, while large-scale checking drives sweep through Delhi’s major routes.

Delhi Red Fort blast: Know top developments here

1. The investigative agencies are probing a possible Turkey link to the Red Fort blast that claimed 12 lives. The passports of Dr Mohammad Umar and Dr Muzammil Shakeel show travel to the country shortly after they joined certain Telegram groups. 
2. A handler instructed the doctor module to disperse across India, with target locations, including Faridabad and Saharanpur, selected after the Turkey visit, India Today reported, citing sources. 
3. Investigators have traced the radicalisation of a "doctors' module" through two Telegram groups -- Farzandan-e-Darul Uloom (Deoband) and another run by Jaish-e-Mohammad operative Umar bin Khattab in Pakistan. 
4. Dr Umar and Shopian's Imam Irfan Ahmad Wagay reportedly started their indoctrination via these groups, starting with discussions on "Kashmir's Aazadi" and suppression of Kashmiris, before shifting to the global jihad narrative and calls for "avenging injustice". 
5. The agencies are also analysing the mobile tower data from the Red Fort area to trace Dr Umar's phone calls from 3 pm to 6:30 pm, the time he drove the Hyundai i20 that was involved in the blast. 
6. Al-Falah University in Faridabad, established under the Haryana Private Universities Act, is under the agencies' radar after three doctors linked to the "white-collar terror module" and the high-intensity blast near Red Fort. 
7. Agencies are investigating how the university became a hub for individuals allegedly acting under Pakistan-backed handlers. 
8. Union Home Minister Amit Shah's scheduled visit to Gujarat has been cancelled due to the ongoing meetings and consultations following the explosion. 
9. Security checks are being conducted at the interstate borders of Delhi, including Ghazipur, Singhu, Tikri, and Badarpur.
10. Security agencies are on high alert from Saharanpur to the Nepal border. As per intelligence inputs, active terrorist elements are likely to attempt to flee to Nepal.