The Red Fort car blast case has taken a sharp digital turn, with investigators now zeroing in on a little-known Swiss messaging app called Threema. According to police, the three doctors accused in the plot—Dr Umar Un Nabi, Dr Muzammil Ganaie, and Dr Shaheen Shahid—were allegedly coordinating their moves through the encrypted platform, making it extremely difficult for agencies to track the conspiracy.
A Secret Network Hidden Behind Encryption
Officials say the suspects, all linked to Faridabad’s Al-Falah University, used Threema to create a tight, closed communication loop. Unlike WhatsApp or Telegram, the app doesn’t ask for your phone number or email ID. Instead, it assigns a random ID that becomes your identity on the platform—making users practically untraceable.
Investigators believe the trio may have gone a step further and set up a private Threema server, allowing them to exchange files, maps, and instructions without leaving meaningful digital footprints. Such a setup can operate entirely off the grid, making surveillance nearly impossible.
Police sources told PTI that location sharing, task planning, and file transfers were likely done through this custom network. Since Threema lets users permanently delete messages from both sides and doesn’t store metadata, forensic teams have almost nothing to reconstruct.
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Why Threema Is a Nightmare for Investigators
Threema’s architecture is built for privacy from the ground up.
- End-to-end encryption for all messages
- Minimal metadata storage
- No chat backups
- Option to erase messages permanently
This means even if someone’s phone is seized, recovering past communication becomes almost impossible. With the Red Fort case, investigators are still examining whether the group’s private server was hosted in India or abroad and whether more individuals were part of the module.
Threema Is Already Banned in India
Interestingly, Threema has been banned in India since May 2023. The Ministry of Electronics and IT blocked several foreign apps under Section 69A of the IT Act after agencies found they were being misused by Pakistan-based groups for propaganda and covert communication.
The banned list from 2023 also included:
- Zangi
- Briar
- Nandbox
- Safeswiss
- BChat
- Element
- Second Line
- MediaFire
- IMO
All these apps have one thing in common—strong encryption and anonymity, which make monitoring extremely challenging.
Despite the ban, investigators suspect the accused accessed Threema by using VPNs or while travelling abroad to countries like Turkey and the UAE, where the app is freely available.
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A Payment System Designed for Anonymity
Adding another layer of difficulty, Threema allows users to pay for the app via:
- Bitcoin, or
- Cash mailed directly to its Swiss office
This means there’s no traceable digital payment trail—another reason agencies worldwide find it extremely challenging to track suspicious activity linked to the platform.
The Digital Side of Terror Plots
As officers piece together the Red Fort conspiracy, it’s becoming clear that encrypted digital tools are now central to modern terror planning. What was originally built as a privacy-focused app for secure communication has, in the wrong hands, become a highly effective shield for dangerous activity.
And in this case, a Swiss privacy app may have helped mask the steps behind a deadly explosion at one of India’s most iconic locations.
