Police focus on how accused got tonnes of explosives

Tue, 11 November 2025

17:45

Security agencies are focusing on how a sophisticated "white-collar" terror module managed to acquire and store a huge quantity of explosives, including Ammonium Nitrate, the substance suspected to have been used in Monday's deadly blast near the Red Fort area that killed 12 people.

The attack has once again highlighted the ease with which a restricted chemical like Ammonium Nitrate can be weaponised with officials trying to trace the logistics and procurement network of the recently busted inter-state terror cell.

The Red Fort blast on Monday evening came hours after eight people, including three doctors, were arrested and 2,900 kg of explosives seized with the uncovering of a "white collar' terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Ammonium Nitrate is a dual-use chemical, widely valued as a popular nitrogen fertiliser and used extensively in the construction sector for controlled blasting in stone quarries.

However, due to its volatile nature when combined with other chemicals including Potassium Chlorate and Sulphur, it became a favourite component for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by terror groups.

It is also mixed with fuel oil that results in Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil Explosive (ANFO), which causes immediate fire. -- PTI

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