A doctor from Lucknow has been arrested in connection with an inter-state operation by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and several other police departments against a major terrorist cell.
Dr. Shaheen, the arrested woman in question, is the third doctor to be detained by security operatives in this case.
According to the police, an AK-47 rifle was recovered from Dr. Shaheen’s car. She was flown to Srinagar for questioning.
Earlier, Kashmiri doctor Muzammil Ganaie was arrested from Haryana’s Faridabad, where he was working as a teacher in a private university.
Another doctor arrested was Dr Adeel Rather, who was picked up from a hospital in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
All were part of the “white collar” terror module comprising Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.
A white collar terror module
A high-level joint operation led to the arrest of eight people, including three doctors, and the seizure of a huge 2,900 kg cache of explosives after dismantling a white-collar terror cell operating in several Indian states.
The major breakthrough came after a specialized 15-day joint operation involving police agencies of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana along with central intelligence agencies.
Police said the operation successfully thwarted the destructive intentions of two banned terror groups: Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH), the India-based ISIS offshoot.
Explosives seized included ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sulphur. In a statement, the Jammu and Kashmir police said 360 kg of inflammable material – suspected to be ammonium nitrate – and various weapons and ammunition were recovered from a rented property in Faridabad belonging to Dr Ganaiem.
Recovery from various locations also included a number of banned weapons:
- Chinese Star pistol with cartridges.
- Beretta pistol with cartridges.
- AK 56 rifle with cartridges.
- AK Krikov rifle with ammunition.
Other items found consisted of chemicals, reagents, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote controls, timers and sheet metal, all of which pointed to bomb-making activities.
An investigation was launched on October 19 after JeM posters containing threats against police and security personnel were found in Srinagar’s Bunpora Nowgam area.
A statement by the J&K Police revealed that investigations had uncovered an ecosystem of white-collar terror that relied on radicalized students and professionals in contact with foreign handlers operating out of Pakistan and other countries.
Dr. Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, a teacher at Al Falah University in Haryana, was the prime suspect arrested after the J&K Police named him as a wanted person in connection with the poster case in Srinagar. Officials noted that on the cell phones of Dr. Ganaie and Dr. Several Pakistani phone numbers were discovered for Adeel, suggesting they were possible network operators.
Of the eight people detained, seven are from Kashmir:
- Arif Nisar Dar (aka Sahil), Yasir-ul-Ashraf and Maqsood Ahmad Dar (aka Shahid) of Nowgam, Srinagar.
- Maulvi Irfan Ahmad of Shopian.
- Zameer Ahmad Ahanger (aka Mutlasha) of Wakura, Ganderbal.
- Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie (aka Musaib) of Koil, Pulwama.
- Dr Adeel from Wanpora, Culgam.
The eighth person, Dr Shaheen, is based in Lucknow.
