Lucknow doctor held as Faridabad terror probe uncovers AK rifle, pistols

Dr. Shaheen Shahid was arrested after weapons were found in her car; police suspect links with a JeM-AGuH network operating across J&K, Haryana and UP.

The multi-state investigation into the Faridabad terror module widened on Sunday with the arrest ofa doctor based in Lal Bagh, Lucknow, after police recovered an AK Krinkov assault rifle, three magazines, a pistol with live rounds, and two empty cartridges from a car registered in her name, police said.

The seized car contained an AK Krinkov rifle, Beretta pistols and ammunition; forensic tests will determine their use in previous terror operations. (PTI)

According to Faridabad Police, the vehicle, which carries a Haryana registration number, was found last week during coordinated searches by the Jammu and Kashmir and Faridabad Police. Forensic teams are examining it for fingerprints, ballistic residue and electronic evidence to determine whether it was used to transport explosives or weapons.

The arrest marks another turn in the probe that has already led to the seizure of nearly 2,900 kilograms of explosive material and the exposure of a suspected terror network spanning Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, officers aware of the case added.

Investigators said the car, though registered under the name of the accused, Dr. Shaheen Shahid, was reportedly sold to Dr Muzammil Shakil, a fourth-year medical student from Pulwama studying at Al-Falah Medical College in Faridabad, who was arrested in late October. However, the vehicle’s registration was never officially transferred, leaving ownership records under Shahid’s name, said assistant commissioner of police, crime, Faridabad Police, Varun Dahiya.

Faridabad Police officials said Shahid’s link emerged from disclosures made by Shakil, who has been uncooperative during questioning. “We are relying on inputs from J&K Police. Shakil has been uncooperative during questioning,”ACP Dahiya said, adding that more arrests may follow as investigators piece together the network’s financial and communication trail.

Police described her as the third doctor arrested in what investigators have termed a “white-collar terror network.” Earlier, two other doctors, including Shakil and another Kashmiri practitioner, were arrested for allegedly providing professional and logistical support to a terror outfit.

“Her arrest is based on credible evidence suggesting involvement beyond mere ownership of the vehicle,” said Dahiya. “She is being interrogated to establish her exact role.”

A senior J&K Police officer said Shahid’s questioning forms part of a larger operation to dismantle an inter-state and transnational module allegedly linked to banned groups Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH), an ISIS-affiliated offshoot.

“The group used encrypted channels for communication, coordination and fund transfers under the guise of social and academic activities,” the official said.

The probe so far has uncovered around 2,900 kilograms of ammonium nitrate and other explosive chemicals from Dhauj and Fatehpur Taga villages in Faridabad, along with rifles, pistols and IED-making components. Investigators believe the material was intended to assemble high-intensity explosive devices targeting key installations in the Delhi–NCR region.

Security agencies believe the arrests of educated professionals indicate a new pattern of radicalization among the urban elite. “This network shows how ideology is infiltrating professional spaces, using doctors, students and academics as covert operators,” said an intelligence official. “It’s a dangerous shift that combines intellect with extremism.”