A senior UP Police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We had been receiving such inputs earlier, which is why vigilance in the state was already heightened. Lucknow was the prime target, but several other cities were also on the radar.”
The blast that shook Delhi earlier this week was never meant to happen there — it was first planned for Uttar Pradesh. Inputs from the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Gujarat ATS suggest that the terror module behind the explosion had initially chosen Lucknow and other major UP cities as targets before changing plans at the last moment. The revelation has triggered a statewide alert, with security agencies intensifying surveillance across the state.
A senior UP Police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We had been receiving such inputs earlier, which is why vigilance in the state was already heightened. Lucknow was the prime target, but several other cities were also on the radar.”
Officials said two separate terror modules had been uncovered in recent weeks — one dismantled by Gujarat ATS and another by Jammu and Kashmir Police. “It appears that after their modules were busted, the operatives altered their plans and carried out the attack in Delhi,” the officer added.
Investigators believe the shift in plan came after the arrest of Dr. Adil from Faridabad and the recovery of nearly 2,900 kg of explosives. “Members of the same network were moving toward UP. It cannot be ruled out that the explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort could have taken place in any city of Uttar Pradesh,” the officer said.
The terror outfit was reportedly looking for recruits familiar with the terrain of UP who could move without relying on mobile phones. Two such men — Azad Suleman Sheikh from Shamli and Mohammad Suhail from Lakhimpur — were identified and later arrested by Gujarat ATS before they could execute any plan.
Last month, Jammu and Kashmir Police had warned that some suspects might attempt to use Tablighi Jamaat activities as a cover for terror operations. Acting on that alert, the UP Police had ordered discreet surveillance of Tablighi Jamaat members and directed district officials to restrict their movement. The DGP Headquarters issued verbal instructions that anyone traveling to or organizing such congregations be kept under watch.
Over half a dozen people, most from western UP, have been detained so far for questioning, an ATS officer confirmed. Some arrests were made based on Gujarat ATS inputs, while others followed leads from Jammu and Kashmir Police.
The UP ATS is also set to interrogate Dr. Shaheen Shahid of Lucknow, who was arrested from Faridabad on November 10. A team has already left for Jammu and Kashmir to gather more details about her UP connections.
