KANPUR: Dr Hayat Zafar, the former husband of Dr Shaheen Shahid one of the suspects in the Delhi blast case has said he was unaware of any alleged terror connections.
“We were married and were living peacefully. We had two children. There was no problem of any kind. I had no information (that she had a connection with terrorists). We were married nine years ago. We got divorced because she wanted to go abroad. I told her that it is fine here because we have all our relatives here. We would face problems abroad as we would be away from family,” Dr Zafar told news agency ANI on Tuesday.
Officials said Shaheen, believed to be in her mid-30s, had married Zafar, a resident of Maharashtra, before their separation in 2015.
After the divorce, she moved to Haryana and began teaching at Al-Falah University in Faridabad. Investigators suspect she may have come in contact with radical elements during this period.
A police official confirmed that Shaheen, also known as Dr Shaheen Shahid, is among those arrested in connection with the inter-state terror module linked to Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. Eight people, including three doctors, were apprehended after 2,900kg of explosives were seized from Faridabad.
Also See: Dr Shaheen ShahidThe Lucknow-born doctor is alleged to be part of JeM’s newly floated women’s recruitment wing,
Jamaat-ul-Mominaat, formed last month. Preliminary findings indicate she was in contact with handlers in Pakistan and was possibly tasked with recruiting women for logistics and propaganda roles.
In Lucknow, Shaheen’s father said he learned about her arrest from the media. “Officials searched the entire house but found nothing objectionable. My daughter spoke to me a month ago and said she was disturbed due to family issues. I cannot believe she is involved in terrorism,” he told reporters.
A day after her arrest from Faridabad, J&K Police and the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) jointly raided two locations in Lucknow — a house in Madion, on the city’s outskirts, and another in Kandhari Bazaar, Lalbagh. The Lalbagh property belongs to Shaheen, while her brother, Dr Parvez Ansari, lived in the Madion house.
Police sources said the team recovered digital devices, documents, a car, and a motorcycle from the Madion residence. “They had separated long ago and were living elsewhere. We are cooperating with authorities and have faith in the investigation,” said Shaheen’s brother, Mohammad Shoaib.
Neighbours described the family as quiet and law-abiding. “We have known Shoaib’s family for many years. They are decent people and not involved in any illegal activity. The entire neighbourhood was shocked to hear about the allegations,” a neighbour said.
Officials said all seized materials have been sent for forensic analysis, while the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the Delhi blast, which investigators say was carried out using the same ammonium nitrate-based explosives recovered from Faridabad.
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