Red Fort blast accused used AI to learn how to build IED, says NIA chargesheet

“…Efforts should be made not to use these applications (WhatsApp and Telegram) at all for Jihadi purposes and to avoid them as much as possible. Insha Allah (Allah willing), it will benefit Jihad. Second thing, my brothers, is that the ‘Signal app’ was invented by ‘Kafirs’, but our experts consider it relatively safe, and it is also being experienced,” another accused, Irfan Ahmad Wagay, said in a chat, according to the NIA.

“For fabricating…[the] IEDs,…A-3 (Wani) procured several necessary ingredients through [the online store] Flipkart, registered on his mobile number 9541813661, with effect from 15.12.2023 to 24.01.2024. The funds for procuring the items…were provided to A-3 by A-1, and A-3 received all items in cash at the time of delivery,” the chargesheet says.

A-1 refers to Umar Un Nabi, the doctor from Pulwama in Kashmir who taught at Al Falah University in Faridabad, and who has been identified as the man driving the Hyundai i20 that exploded outside Red Fort, killing 13 people.

According to the NIA, the alleged bomber stored urine in polybags to extract urea for use in explosives.

“The lady of the house had observed that A-1 was keeping Urine packed in a polybag…in the room where [he] was staying. He did not go outside to dispose it off. …A foul smell was emanating from the room, regarding which she complained to A-8. It is worthwhile to observe here that an innovative method for preparing explosive substances using Urea Nitrate has been elaborated in a PDF material seized from the pen drives of A-6 and A-1, seized respectively at the instances of A-6 and A-9, wherein an alternative method for the source of urea is mentioned, extracting urea from urine,” the chargesheet says.

A court in Delhi took cognizance of the chargesheet in the last week of August.

According to the NIA, “the deceased accused (Umar Nabi) was well aware of the general area Red Fort and had visited the location multiple times earlier.” The agency has listed 12 alleged visits to the area by Umar Nabi between December 2023 and May 2025.

“…The accused considered the Red Fort to be symbolic of the Indian State, and the handwritten notes seized from A-1’s premises at Al Falah University clearly mentioned that the AGuH members were against Democracy and wanted the imposition of the Shariat Laws in India. Therefore, causing the blast near the Red Fort, besides being a terrorist act, also amounts to waging war against the State,” the chargesheet says.

The Ansar Ghazwat-ul Hind (AGuH) is an al-Qaeda affiliated Islamist militant group of which the perpetrators of the Red Fort blast are alleged to have been members.

The alleged “terror module” planned its operation over a year and a half, the NIA chargesheet says.

In March 2025, the accused persons rented four rooms in Khori Jamalpur village in Faridabad under the “guise of storing fruits”, but used them to “process and wash chemicals”.

In October, an FIR was registered in Nowgam, J&K, in connection with posters allegedly put up by the AGuH. This triggered the arrests of several co-accused persons, the NIA has said.

On October 30, Umar Nabi allegedly escaped the Al Falah campus in the i20 laden with explosives, and stayed at a “safe hideout” in Nuh, Haryana, until November 9.

“…Ultimately, on 10.11.2025, A-1 (Umar Un Nabi) with the objective of evading apprehension by intelligence and law enforcement agencies…chose the above-mentioned location for causing the blast,” the chargesheet says.