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‘They showed no signs of extremism’: Kin of Pulwama doctors, villagers in shock
In the house of Dr Umar was just his sister in law, Muzamila, surrounded by some close relatives, sobbing over the turn of events
Koil village, some 35 km from capital Srinagar, in southern Kashmir was in a silent tumult on Tuesday with relatives and neighbours trickling out from the homes of the two doctors, Dr Umar Un Nabi —the Red Fort blast suspect —and Dr Muzammil Ganaie— arrested in connection with the white-collar terror network on Monday.
In the house of Dr Umar was just his sister in law, Muzamila, surrounded by some close relatives, sobbing over the turn of events.
The villagers were in shock over the suspicions of the doctors’ roles in the terror activities. The families and neighbours said they showed no signs of any radicalisation, with villagers adding that the youth always appeared busy with studies and work.
The two doctors live less than a kilometres apart in the village with some 800-1000 families, most of whom depend on agriculture and horticulture.
The family said that police took away Nabi’s mother, his two brothers on Monday evening after the blast in Delhi, while his father was taken from home by security forces on Tuesday morning. “It is unbelievable what the police and news reports are saying. It is absolutely shocking,” said Umar’s cousin Waseem Ahangar, adding, “The alleged video of him in the car is not clear. I don’t think Umar is in the video.”
He said that his aunt, uncle and two cousins have been whisked away by police and have not returned home yet.
An elderly neighbour said that Umar would offer prayers in the mosque whenever he was home but never indulged in any other religious activity. “ He would not indulge in any religious activity or was associated with any organisation,” the neighbour said.
“He would hardly talk besides what was asked or needed,” he said.
A group of people gathered on a shop front near the home, discussing the turn of events, said, “ We are not even able to imagine that this young man would do such a thing. He would hardly talk but whenever anybody needed help he would be ready.”
The modest Koil market was open with people going in about their business. Waseem said that Umar’s family has seen very difficult years after his father, Ghulam Nabi Bhat, who was a teacher, became ‘mentally unstable’ and resigned from his job two decades ago. The family had no orchards.
“Umar’s mother Shameema took it upon her to educate him. She did odd jobs and some relatives also pitched in to help the family. She even sold her household items to take care of Umar,” he said.
Umar, 32, has three siblings. His elder brother is a plumber, who has a young son while his younger brother is still studying. Their sister has been married.
According to relatives, Umar has been brilliant in his studies and managed to qualify the medical entrance test without any coaching. “He was efficient and was among the top 10 when he qualified for medical entrance in the state in 2010. He would mostly be busy studying,” said Waseem.
Umar had his schooling from government boys high school in Koil while he completed his MBBS from GMC, Srinagar in 2016-17.
He worked as a senior resident doctor in department of the Government Medical College and Hospital in Anantnag before joining Faridabad’s Al-Falah University as an assistant professor, where he was living for the past two years. “Since his job, the family was seeing some improvement. They even refurbished the house they were living in,” he said.
Less than a kilometre away from Umar’s home is a cluster of houses belonging to Ganaie clan where Muzammil Ganaie lived with his orchadist father, mother, two brothers and a sister who has also completed MBBS. Ganaie’s elder brother is associated with farming while his younger brother is preparing for NEET.
Muzammil Ganaie, 31, a doctor at Al Falah hospital, was arrested on October 30, from Faridabad after the police crackdown on the “white-collar terror ecosystem” that surfaced after a multi-state terror module linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind was busted in a joint operation by Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana Police has led to eight arrests, including three doctors, and the seizure of nearly 2,900 kg of explosives in Faridabad.
Muzammil’s father Shakil Ahmad said that after his son’s arrest, their home was also raided. “When we called Muzammil’s number, it was switched off . .. For the past few days police have been coming here . My elder son have also been detained and all our electronic devices like phones and laptops have been taken away,” he said.
He said that they have not been allowed to meet their son. “We are staunch Indians. During militancy, people would pelt stones on our house as our father was the first one to cast his vote,” said Shakil.
He dismissed allegations of his son’s involvement. “ He is also a staunch Indian. Even during cricket matches, his favourite team in Indian team,” he said.
Muzammil’s brother Azad Shakil, who is preparing for NEET, said that his brother would often call and advise him to study harder. “We would talk everyday and he would even show us his hospital surroundings showing us how he would work,” he said.
Muzammil completed his MBBS from Batra Medical College in Jammu in 2017 and then worked at Srinagar’s Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences as resident doctor for three years.
“ He was working at Al Falah and was pursuing to do DNB in medical emergency,” the father said.
