Invisible Modules, Visible Threat: Red Fort Blast Probe Pushes Security Agencies Toward Conventional and Online Anti-Radicalisation Measures

New Delhi: After the Red Fort blast, top security agencies have intensified strategy reviews, with a major focus on strengthening electronic intelligence (ELINT) and rethinking how to detect covert local terror cells.

During a recent high-level meeting, officials raised concerns over gaps in electronic surveillance, especially after investigations revealed how the Faridabad terror module managed to stay undetected for nearly three years. The group — led primarily by doctors — had quietly planned a series of attacks in and around Delhi without leaving any digital trace.

Officials noted that while ELINT is effective in tracking cross-border communications, it often fails to detect local modules operating entirely offline. This explains how the Faridabad group managed to evade intelligence agencies for such an extended period. Most of their communications were internal and limited to contacts in Jammu and Kashmir — not across international borders, making interception extremely challenging.

A recent example highlighting the contrast came from Gujarat ATS, which arrested a Hyderabad medical representative attempting to develop Ricin under instructions from Pakistan. That arrest was possible only because cross-border electronic intercepts provided actionable intelligence.

In light of these findings, security agencies are now prioritising efforts to uncover domestic sleeper cells across India. Officials emphasise that despite expanding the scope, surveillance on Kashmir must remain constant, as Pakistan’s ISI continues to exploit networks in the Valley to recruit operatives nationwide.

The Faridabad module case, officials say, signals Pakistan’s renewed attempt to shift the terror focus away from Jammu and Kashmir and toward India’s heartland — a development that requires revamped security strategies and deeper coordination among multiple agencies.

Beyond cracking physical cells, a major part of the renewed strategy involves intensifying efforts to counter online radicalisation. Agencies have highlighted a rapid rise in young individuals being influenced through social media propaganda pushed by Islamist extremist groups.

Officials explained that such propaganda often mixes selective truths with fabricated narratives, making it difficult to dismantle at the source. As a result, agencies plan to deploy additional manpower for real-time fact-checking to counter misinformation before it fuels radicalisation.

According to senior officials, much of the anti-India propaganda centres around manufactured narratives of “Muslim victimhood,” which extremist groups exploit to attract recruits. Countering these narratives swiftly and effectively, they stressed, is critical to preventing radicalisation and undermining recruitment pipelines.

--With inputs from IANS