An imam from Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir, identified as Irfan Ahmad Wagah, was arrested on Tuesday, November 12, in connection with the ongoing probe into the Faridabad explosives seizure and the blast near Delhi’s Red Fort.

His arrest marks a major breakthrough in a nationwide counter-terror operation that has uncovered a disturbing network of radicalisation involving educated professionals, including doctors and academics.

The Counter-Intelligence Kashmir and Srinagar Police jointly raided Ahmad’s house in Nowgam, detaining him and his wife for allegedly recruiting and radicalising medical professionals and several young people from the Valley. Some of those recruited were already linked to the Faridabad terror module, officials said.

Ahmad, who once worked as a paramedical employee at Government Medical College in Srinagar, also served as an imam in Nowgam. Investigators say he played a central role in influencing educated youth towards extremist ideologies through sermons and personal outreach.

His wife is suspected of working closely with Dr Shaheen, one of the doctors linked to the Faridabad module, who reportedly helped set up a women’s wing for the banned group Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Phones and digital devices recovered from their home were found to contain messages and instructions promoting extremist goals, according to sources familiar with the case.

Investigators have also connected Ahmad to Dr Muzammil Shakeel, an associate of Dr Mohammad Umar, who is believed to be the main planner behind the Red Fort blast. Shakeel, who worked at Al Falah University in Faridabad, was reportedly operating from rooms owned by the imam.

Police sources said Ahmad stayed in close contact with both Muzammil and Umar, helping them coordinate and offering ideological support for their activities.

Ahmad came under scrutiny after posters bearing the insignia of Jaish-e-Mohammed appeared in Bunpora, Nowgam, on October 19. Detainees later named him as the person who had distributed them.

Officials believe Ahmad’s sermons were filled with subtle extremist narratives aimed at radicalising professionals while presenting them as religious or social discussions.

Investigators have described this network as a clear case of “white-collar terrorism”, where doctors and educated individuals allegedly used their professional status to help banned terror groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.

Messages recovered from seized devices suggest a wider conspiracy to carry out coordinated attacks across multiple states, with the goal of “setting India ablaze” in retaliation for the killing of Jaish chief Masood Azhar’s family in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

With Ahmad’s arrest, officials believe a major terror plot has been foiled, exposing how education, influence, and radicalisation are being intertwined to spread extremism in new ways.