The father of Dr Shaheen, the Lucknow-based doctor arrested in connection with the Faridabad explosives seizure, has said he is in disbelief over her alleged involvement in terror-related activities. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Syed Ahmad Ansari, Shaheen’s father, said he never imagined his daughter could be linked to such a case.
Dr Shaheen was taken into custody on Monday after investigators linked her to Dr Muzammil Shakeel, a Kashmiri doctor from whom authorities recovered nearly 2,900 kg of explosives and inflammable materials from two rented rooms in Faridabad. Her arrest came hours after a Hyundai i20 car exploded near Delhi’s Red Fort Metro Station, killing ten people and injuring several others.
Ansari said that Shaheen, who once worked as an assistant professor at GSVM Medical College in Kanpur, had left her job in 2013 without informing the administration. He added that she had studied medicine in Allahabad and later moved to Faridabad, where she came into contact with Dr Muzammil Shakeel. “I cannot believe that my daughter was involved in such activities,” Ansari said, adding that she had been married to a man from Maharashtra but was later divorced.
Sources said Dr Shakeel is suspected of having introduced Shaheen to Al Falah University, where she allegedly became involved in establishing links with a terror network. Investigators believe she was part of a group working to set up a women-led recruitment and operations network for terror outfits operating in India.
Police said that based on information from Dr Shakeel, they recovered a Swift car belonging to a woman doctor from Al-Falah Hospital, which contained a Kalashnikov rifle. Authorities are now examining whether the weapon was part of a larger stockpile connected to the explosives found earlier.
Meanwhile, investigative teams conducted searches at Shaheen’s family residence in Lucknow. Her brother Parvez Ansari, who recently resigned from Integral University, is also under scrutiny. During a raid on his house on IIM Road, the ATS and NIA seized laptops, mobile phones, and hard drives. A car parked outside bore an Integral University pass.
Ansari said that he last spoke to Shaheen about a month ago and had no indication that she was under investigation. “I spoke to my younger son, Parvez, just last week. We never discussed anything beyond family matters,” he said.
Investigators are now probing the Faridabad module’s wider links, including suspected coordination with Pakistan-based terror organisations. Both Shaheen and Dr Shakeel are being interrogated to determine the extent of their involvement and whether the Red Fort blast was connected to their activities.
