Kashmir doctor identified as key coordinator in Delhi Red Fort blast investigation

Indian authorities have identified Dr Muzaffar Ahmad Rather, a pediatrician from Kashmir now believed to be in Afghanistan, as the main coordinator and foreign link in a doctors' terror module responsible for this week's Red Fort blast in Delhi.

According to Jammu and Kashmir Police sources cited by Indian media, Muzaffar served as a key intermediary between the core module in India and their Pakistan-based handler operating from Afghanistan. The MBBS graduate from Jammu with an MD in Pediatrics from Kashmir allegedly coordinated with Ukasha, who is suspected of directing Jaish-linked networks from Afghanistan.

Police sources told Indian media that Muzaffar traveled to Istanbul in 2022 with co-accused Dr Muzammil Shakeel to meet Ukasha, where funding and operational routes were finalized. The meetings reportedly led to planning large-scale attacks including the Red Fort bombing.

Authorities allege Muzaffar coordinated module activities from Dubai, managing encrypted communications, money transfers and logistics through secure online platforms before moving to Afghanistan after his brother Adeel's arrest in India.

Indian media reports describe Muzaffar as playing a "pivotal role in radicalising his younger brother Adeel" and introducing him to other core members of what authorities call a "white-collar terror module."

Investigators believe Muzaffar personally instructed the Red Fort bomber to carry out the Delhi blast after arrests disrupted their original plan for a Pulwama-style car bombing in Kashmir. His communications, traced to Afghan and Pakistani networks, reportedly increased significantly before the explosion.

Authorities suspect Muzaffar's August 2025 trip to the UAE was part of a clandestine route to Afghanistan and that a wider network of sympathizers and professionals remains embedded in Indian cities.