The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday spilled the beans on how the suspects linked to the Red Fort blast case in Delhi leveraged technology to execute the terrorist attack, In its chargesheet, the agency said that artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including ChatGPT, were used by the accused members of a terror module to assemble rockets, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and drone-based attack systems.

The claims have been mentioned in the NIA’s detailed chargesheet, which outlines how online tutorials, AI-powered assistance and commercially available components were allegedly exploited to orchestrate attacks that culminated in the catastrophic car-borne IED explosion near the Red Fort in the national capital. As many as 11 people died in the blast, while several others had sustained grievous injuries.

First such terror attack in India

According to investigators, the case may be the first of its kind in India where terror operatives allegedly relied on generative AI tools during the planning and the execution of a mass-casualty attack.

Jasir Bilal Wani the backbone of conspiracy

The NIA officials said that accused Jasir Bilal Wani was the technical backbone of the entire conspiracy, and was arrested on November 17 last year following disclosures made by the co-accused, identified as Dr Muzammil, Shaheen, Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather and Mufti Irfan Wagay. It was mentioned in the chargesheet that Jasir stayed at the Al Falah campus during 2024 and 2025, where he allegedly contributed to the development of explosive systems and attack mechanisms.

The NIA sleuths said that Dr Adeel supplied ingredients like powdered sugar and potassium-nitrate-based NPK fertiliser, while Dr Umer-un-Nabi spearheaded technical research related to improvised rocket IEDs. The chargesheet detailed that Jasir used ChatGPT and YouTube videos to study rocket fabrication methods and comprehend chemical compositions required for explosive mixtures.

Syndicate conducted rocket, drone experiments in Kashmir forests

A screengrab of Jasir Bilal Wani's arrest

The NIA said that the syndicate allegedly conducted multiple field tests in remote forest regions of Kashmir. Jasir and his aides reportedly tested rocket IEDs in the forests of Qazigund. Based on his revelations, investigators recovered remnants of explosive devices from deep forest locations during the probe.