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Since no email ever exits the server, the communication leaves no digital trace in the form of conventional ‘sent’ or ‘received’ metadata
The discovery of this tradecraft strongly supports the theory that the perpetrators, including the recently arrested doctors and professionals, received advanced training from foreign intelligence or well-established terror organisations. (Representational image)
The investigation into the devastating November 10 Red Fort blast, which tragically claimed 13 lives, has uncovered evidence of a highly sophisticated and covert communication system allegedly used by the suspects. The Delhi Police, as per reports, are now intensely focusing on the use of dead-drop emails, a method long associated with international spy networks and sophisticated militant groups seeking to evade surveillance and maintain deniability.
This method, often termed a “covert channel,” involves two parties communicating without ever sending a direct email to each other. Instead, they use a single shared draft email stored on a common platform. One party accesses the shared draft, types their message, and saves it. The second party logs into the same shared account, opens the saved draft, reads the message, deletes it, and types their reply—all without hitting the “Send” button. Since no email ever exits the server, the communication leaves no digital trace in the form of conventional “sent” or “received” metadata, making it nearly impossible for standard surveillance techniques to intercept.
Police sources familiar with the investigation suggest that this highly compartmentalised method was likely utilised to communicate with external handlers based outside India, possibly in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as suggested by earlier interrogation reports. The dead-drop system would have provided the necessary security for passing critical information, including:
- Attack tasking and operational instructions
- Target reconnaissance details
- Financial transaction codes and logistics updates
The discovery of this tradecraft strongly supports the theory that the perpetrators, including the recently arrested doctors and professionals, received advanced training from foreign intelligence or well-established terror organisations. The use of dead-drop emails contrasts sharply with the cruder methods often employed by low-level modules and signals a calculated effort to protect the higher echelons of the network from detection.
The police are now attempting to reconstruct the communication trail by securing access to the suspect email accounts and analysing metadata logs—even in the absence of direct message transfer—to identify log-in times, IP addresses, and the specific accounts used for the clandestine “dead-drop” exchanges. This forensic effort is crucial to mapping the full scope of the conspiracy and identifying the handlers directing the sophisticated terror plot against high-value targets in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short. He writes sporadically on Politics, Sports, Global Affairs, Space, Entertainment, And Food. He trawls X via …Read More
Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short. He writes sporadically on Politics, Sports, Global Affairs, Space, Entertainment, And Food. He trawls X via … Read More
November 15, 2025, 23:33 IST
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