From Prayagraj Medical College to Terror Module: Dr Shaheen Shahid’s Alleged Descent Into Radical Network
Dr. Shaheen Shahid hails from the Khandari Bazar area of Lucknow, born around 1979 and brought up in a middle-class family.
Her father, Syed Ahmad Ansari (also known as Shahid Ansari), worked in the state health department; the family lived modestly and had high expectations of their children.
Academically, Shaheen excelled in her early years, topping her board exams in Class X and XII at a government girls’ college in Lucknow.
She later enrolled in a government medical college in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad), where she completed her MBBS and later an MD.
The exact duration is not always specified, but reports indicate she spent several years at the college.
Following that, she cleared the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission exam and in 2006 joined the Department of Pharmacology at Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College (GSVM), Kanpur as an Assistant Professor.
Her early employment suggested a promising career: a doctor, academician, and professional.
Professional Decline & Sudden Exit
Despite the strong beginning, Shaheen’s medical career began deteriorating. According to colleagues at GSVM, she worked diligently only for the first few years before developing professional disagreements.
Around 200,9, she was transferred to Kannauj but returned within six months. By 2013, she stopped reporting to duty altogether. Despite repeated notices, she remained absent, and her service was officially terminated around 2021.
During this time, her personal life also changed. She had been married to Dr. Zafar Hayat (a Maharashtra-based ophthalmologist/medical teacher), but the couple divorced in 2015.
After that, Shaheen remained largely out of sight — increasingly withdrawn, according to family and former colleagues.
Allegations & Arrest
In early November 2025, Shaheen was arrested by the Jammu & Kashmir Police in coordination with central intelligence and U.P. ATS.
She stands accused of being a significant operative in a terror module tied to the banned organisation Jaish‑e‑Mohammed (JeM).
Investigators allege that Shaheen was tasked with creating the Indian branch of JeM’s women’s wing, Jamaat‑ul‑Mominaat, and was in contact with handlers based in Pakistan.
She had reportedly been working at Al‑Falah University, Faridabad, and her younger brother, Dr. Parvez Ansari, was arrested in Lucknow after raids on his residence. Investigators tied the module to the November 10 blast near Delhi’s Red Fort and to a massive explosives cache recovered in Faridabad.
Sources say the vehicle involved in the blast and the explosives movement were linked to Shaheen’s car registration, and she is believed to have acted in a logistical/recruitment role within the network.
Family Reaction & Wider Security Concerns
Shaheen’s father expressed disbelief and claimed ignorance of her alleged activities: “I last spoke to her about a month ago…
I never heard any names such as Dr. Muzammil,” he said.
Her arrest has shocked neighbours, former colleagues, and relatives who remember her as quiet and studious.
Security agencies view her case as a warning signal: the radicalisation of educated professionals — particularly women doctors — forming parts of terror modules is a disturbing development.
The idea of women’s wings in terrorist organisations is now drawing intense scrutiny.
Dr. Shaheen studied at the government medical college in Prayagraj and then Kanpur’s GSVM, showing early promise as a medical academic.
Her sudden career collapse (absence since 2013, termination by 2021) and divorce in 2015 marked a personal shift.
Her arrest reveals alleged involvement in terror logistics, recruitment, and links with JeM’s women’s wing.
Family and colleagues remain stunned; security agencies view the case as part of a new pattern involving doctors and women operatives in terror networks.
Dr. Shaheen Saeed once appeared to be just another respected medical professional — quiet, focused, and living a routine academic life.
But behind her seemingly ordinary persona, investigators say she was allegedly operating a covert mission linked to one of the most dangerous terror outfits in South Asia.
According to Delhi Police sources, Saeed had been secretly working to establish a women’s wing of the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) within India.
The unit, known as Jamaat-ul-Mominaat, is reportedly headed in Pakistan by Sadia Azhar, the sister of JeM founder Masood Azhar. Saeed’s role, officials claim, was to create a parallel structure on Indian soil — with women at the center of strategic indoctrination and recruitment.
Arrest After Explosives Haul
The Lucknow-based doctor’s arrest came after a massive cache of explosives and inflammable material — nearly 2,900 kg — was uncovered in two rented rooms in Faridabad.
The breakthrough investigation began with the arrest of Kashmiri doctor Muzammil Ganaie alias Musaib, who worked at the same Haryana university as Saeed.
Following his interrogation, police traced a Maruti Swift car carrying an AK-series rifle, a pistol, and ammunition. The vehicle, registered in Faridabad, was found to belong to Dr. Saeed. This discovery reportedly confirmed her suspected nexus and prompted her arrest.
University Staff Speak Out
At Al-Falah University, where Shaheen worked as a professor of physiology, her former colleagues now acknowledge that certain behavior had drawn concern in the past — but never to this extent.
“She never followed discipline,” a senior faculty member told mediapersons. “She would leave campus without informing anyone, and many visitors came to meet her.
There were complaints about her conduct — but we never imagined anything like this.”
University authorities have assured full cooperation with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as investigators now seek Saeed’s employment records, contacts, academic trail, and years of movement.
A Web of Connections & Wider Probe
Investigators believe Shaheen Saeed was in close contact with Ganaie, who was allegedly tasked with explosives-related operations.
Saeed, they claim, was meanwhile responsible for ideological and logistical support to build a women-centric terror cell — a major strategic evolution in JeM’s operations.
Officials are also probing whether the Faridabad module has any connection to the recent suicide attack near Delhi’s Red Fort, which killed nine people — a terror strike that has triggered nationwide security reviews.
A Stark Realisation
Colleagues and locals now express disbelief, saying the soft-spoken doctor never gave away hints of such extremist involvement. “We had no reason to suspect her in this way,” the professor added. “It’s shocking.”
As investigators dive deeper into her academic career, digital footprint, and social links, the case has triggered concerns over radicalisation among educated professionals and the growing use of women in covert extremist networks.
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