Amit Shah Reveals Massive 40 Kg IED Triggered Red Fort Area Explosion

Union Home Minister Amit Shah used the Anti-Terrorism Conference-2025 to disclose that 40 kg of explosive caused the Red Fort area blast in Delhi on November 10, and said investigators recovered three tonnes of additional explosives before detonation, while calling for stronger national databases to tackle organised crime and terrorism.

Shah was speaking at the inauguration of the two-day Anti-Terrorism Conference-2025, organised by the NIA, where top officers from central agencies and state police forces attended as the minister also released the NIA's updated crime manual and unveiled two new national-level databases on terrorists and organised criminal networks.

Anti-Terrorism Conference-2025 and organised crime focus on terror cases and explosives

Detailing recent terror cases, Shah said the Pahalgam and Delhi investigations showed how coordinated work could deliver strong results, and praised Jammu and Kashmir Police, stating, "Pahalgam and Delhi blast cases are not examples of routine policing, but outstanding instances of watertight investigation," while stressing that such probes strengthen confidence in national security systems.

Shah linked the Pahalgam incident to attempts to disturb social order, stating that the attackers behind the Baisaran valley strike wanted to damage communal harmony across the country, and said these motives reinforced the need for better information sharing, stronger databases, and close cooperation between states and central agencies on organised crime and terror funding.

The minister shared specific figures from the Red Fort area case, explaining that 40 kg of explosive was actually used in the November 10 blast, while agencies seized three tonnes of explosive material in time, and presented the improved NIA databases as key tools to prevent similar incidents and track organised crime networks supporting such attacks.

Anti-Terrorism Conference-2025 and organised crime data framework and coordination

Highlighting how organised crime finances terrorism, Shah said, "Organised crime networks initially operate for the purpose of ransom and extortion, but when their leaders flee abroad and settle there, they automatically come into contact with terrorist organisations and then use the proceeds from ransom and extortion to spread terrorism within the country," according to the official statement.

Shah urged every state to act against such networks using the new databases, saying state police must, under guidance from the NIA and CBI, and with IB support, work to eliminate organised crime in their respective areas, and stressed that the database on terrorists and criminals should become a core element of the government's zero-terror policy.

Calling for a change in information culture, Shah said agencies should move from a 'Need to Know' mindset to a 'Duty to Share' approach, arguing that many central and state bodies have built useful technology systems, yet platforms and data designed in silos remain "like a gun without bullets" if they cannot connect effectively.

Shah said it would be better if all security and crime data could communicate with each other and were created using compatible technology, adding, "For this purpose, the Ministry of Home Affairs, NIA, and IB should hold discussions to develop a seamless national-level framework for technology and data, and should support the states in strengthening it."

The home minister said director generals of police are expected to implement the database framework fully, described the planned national strategy as a future "360-degree assault on organised crime," and noted that a new standard of coordination now links the DGP Conference, Security Strategy Conference, N-CORD meetings and the Anti-Terrorism Conference, stating, "We cannot view these four pillars in isolation; running through them as a common thread is the Anti-Terrorism Conference," as he underlined that this combined structure supports the wider zero-terror objective.