Red Fort blast probe intensifies: NIA raids ‘Madam Surgeon’ Dr Shaheen Shahid’s Lucknow home |
LUCKNOW: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday widened its probe into a “white-collar” terror financing and radicalisation network linked to the November 10 car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort, conducting coordinated searches across Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh — including the Lucknow residence of former medical college faculty member Dr Shaheen Shahid, now arrested and in custody of NIA. Lucknow search: family under scannerIn Lucknow, NIA searched Shaheen’s Lalbagh residence where her father and one of her brothers continue to live; another brother, also a doctor, has been detained for questioning.It is for the first time that NIA has conducted searches at residence of Dr Shaheen Shahid in Lucknow.Shaheen was earlier arrested after a Russian rifle and ammunition were recovered from a car registered in her name, allegedly used by Muzammil.Investigators allege she funnelled Rs 27–28 lakh into the module, including Rs 6.5 lakh for weapons and Rs 3 lakh for a vehicle, though she claims the money was given as zakat. Agencies also assert she was the only woman in the Faridabad JeM module and was in contact with Afira Biwi, wife of Pulwama attack mastermind Umar Farooq, and had discussed a plan to target six Indian cities on December 6 as “revenge for Babri Masjid”.A topper turned terror accusedBorn and raised in Kaiserbagh, the 46-year-old pharmacology specialist Shaheen also known as ‘Madam Surgeon’ had an impeccable academic run — topping her Class 10 and 12 boards, completing MBBS and MD from the government medical college in Prayagraj, and securing a UPPSC rank to join GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, as an assistant professor in 2006.Her trajectory reportedly plunged after 2013, when she abruptly stopped reporting for duty. All official communication failed, and she was terminated in 2021. During these undocumented years, investigators claim she drifted toward radical elements while associated with Al-Falah University, where she allegedly grew close to Dr Muzammil, suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) operative whom she married in 2023.Dr Shaheen Shahid was allegedly heading the India wing of Jamaat-ul-Mominaat which is the women’s wing of Jaish-e-Muhammad.NIA teams carried out searches at eight locations in Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam. In Shopian, officers raided the home of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad Vagay, who has emerged as the alleged mastermind responsible for radicalisation and recruitment in the network. Vagay is currently under NIA custody in connection with the Red Fort blast that killed 15 people.In Pulwama, searches were conducted in Koil, Chandgam, Malangpora and Sambura, all linked to suspects connected to the Delhi blast.Simultaneously, NIA searched the residence of Dr Aadil Ahmad Rather in Saharanpur, arrested earlier this month, as part of efforts to map the financial and operational web of the module.A white-collar terror modelOfficials describe the network as a new breed of “white-collar” terror module — educated professionals who raise funds through financial fraud, laundering and legitimate-looking transactions, making detection far more complex.With raids now stretching from Kashmir to Uttar Pradesh, investigators say the focus is on identifying the module’s handlers, mapping the funnel of funds, and establishing how radicalisation and operational planning were executed by individuals with professional backgrounds.The raids come after a Delhi court on Saturday extended the National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody of four accused, including Dr Shaheen Shahid, Dr Muzammil Shakeel, Mufti Irfan Ahmad Wagay, and Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather in the Delhi blast case for another 10 days after it sought more time for investigation.Even before the blast, several arrests had been made across multiple states, and investigators had begun to piece together evidence of an interstate terror module.Following the explosion, the NIA found that the incident was connected to earlier arrests, leading to a series of new revelations as the probe deepened.The NIA has so far arrested seven individuals in connection with the blast involving a Hyundai i20 driven by Dr Umar Muhammad, which exploded near the Lal Qila Metro station.
