Delhi Red Fort Blast 2025: How Umer un Nabi and other accused used ChatGPT for 'terror engineering'

The National Investigation Agency has alleged that a chargesheeted accused linked to an offshoot of the global terror outfit Al-Qaida misused artificial intelligence platforms, including ChatGPT and YouTube, for what officials described as “terror engineering” in connection with the deadly Red Fort area car blast case in Delhi. According to official sources on Sunday, the findings are part of a 7,500-page chargesheet filed by the NIA on May 14 before a special NIA court in New Delhi in connection with the high-intensity vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device blast that took place on November 10 last year.

The explosion, which allegedly involved members of an interim module of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind linked to Al-Qaida, killed 11 people and injured several others. The chargesheet alleges that one of the accused, Jasir Bilal Wani, acted as the “in-house engineer” of the terror module and used online platforms to research the construction of rocket IEDs. Investigators said Jasir searched YouTube and ChatGPT for information on “how to make a rocket and in what proportion should the mixture be”, highlighting what officials called the misuse of digital and AI tools for terror-related activities.

The NIA alleged that Jasir, along with co-accused Dr Umer un Nabi, Dr Muzammil Shakeel, and Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather, prepared and tested rocket IEDs in the Qazigund forest in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district. Remnants of the explosive devices were later recovered by NIA teams during field investigations based on disclosures made by the accused.

The chargesheet further claimed that Dr Umer, described as a key accused and driver of the explosive-laden vehicle used in the attack, conducted research on improvised rocket IEDs and guided Jasir in assembling explosive devices. According to investigators, Dr Adeel allegedly supplied IED ingredients, including powdered sugar and potassium nitrate in the form of NPK fertiliser, while Jasir fabricated the devices using commercially available materials.

The probe also revealed that Jasir had stayed at the Al Falah University campus in Faridabad on multiple occasions during 2024 and 2025 to provide what the chargesheet termed “technical support” to the conspiracy. The university came under scrutiny after investigators alleged that three doctors employed there were linked to the blast case.

The NIA alleged that the group also experimented with weaponising drones. Dr Umer allegedly provided Jasir with two drones and instructed him to enhance their flying range and payload capacity for possible attacks on security installations in Kashmir and other parts of the country. Investigators further claimed that the accused conducted another test involving a cylinder-based IED in the Youshmurg forest near Mattan in Anantnag. Remnants of those tests were also seized during the probe.

As part of the investigation, the NIA conducted what sources described as a controlled simulation in which Jasir allegedly demonstrated before bomb disposal experts how to fabricate functional rocket IEDs using commercially available materials.

The chargesheet also details online purchases allegedly made through Jasir’s Flipkart account between December 2023 and January 2024 for components used in trigger mechanisms. These included proximity switches, relay transmitters, soldering kits, piezo plates and electronic kits, which investigators said were funded by Dr Umer through cash-on-delivery orders.

According to the NIA, the components were assembled into trigger mechanisms later used in the vehicle-borne IED blast near the Red Fort area. The agency said the explosive used in the attack was Triacetone Triperoxide, or TATP, which was allegedly manufactured clandestinely after repeated experimentation.