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Suspects linked to the Red Fort car blast actively recruited local residents in Lucknow to procure volatile chemical agents in bulk, official sources revealed on Monday.

According to investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), one of the primary suspects, Dr. Muzammil Shakeel, used online searches to locate chemical shops across the city that stocked components for Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP). Known globally as the "Mother of Satan," this highly volatile explosive is the same material allegedly used in the November 10 blast near Delhi's Red Fort last year.

A handwritten list of these target chemical suppliers was reportedly kept by co-accused Dr. Shaheen Saeed on Muzammil’s instructions—a document investigators later retrieved directly from a mobile phone.

This preparation ran parallel to an intensive reconnaissance mission conducted between August 25 and 30, 2025, when Muzammil and Shaheen traveled from Faridabad to Lucknow to zero in on multiple government and historical landmarks potentially scouting a suitable area for a blast.

According to official media sources, Muzammil personally surveyed a mix of high-security government hubs and densely populated areas such The Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Bapu Bhawan, Aminabad, Lal Bagh, and the historic Imambara complex

“They were contemplating a plan to explode a car laden with explosives near these building complexes,” an official source stated, noting that the accused viewed these high-traffic zones as ideal environments for a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.

Chargesheet Details

These specific counter-terrorism findings have been detailed within a massive 7,500-page chargesheet submitted by the NIA on May 14. The formal filing coordinates the Lucknow reconnaissance data with the broader prosecution surrounding last year's high-intensity vehicle explosion near Red Fort in Delhi, exposing what authorities describe as a coordinated, multi-city terror cell.

Red Fort Blast

On November 10, 2025, a devastating vehicle-borne IED exploded in slow-moving traffic near New Delhi's historic Red Fort, killing 15 people and injuring over 20 others. The plot was orchestrated by a module of radicalized professionals, including university doctors, linked to an Al-Qaeda offshoot. The matter remain under investigation by NIA.