Delhi blast: Cardiologist from Kanpur medical college detained for alleged terror links

KAnpur: The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the subject investigating government agency (NIA) feature detained Dr. Mohammad Arif, a senior occupant doctor in the cardiology department of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GSVM), a government medical college in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur.Arif’s name allegedly surfaced during scrutiny of the phone records of Dr. Shaheen Saeed, the Lucknow-based doctor arrested on November 9 in the Faridabad terror module case, the officer said. Investigators said the two had been in regular contact for several months.Dr. Arif was picked up from his rented flat in Kanpur’s Ashok Nagar area by the investigating agencies on Wednesday night. “Acting on intelligence inputs, the ATS raided the premises and detained him for questioning. His personal electronic devices and communication records have been seized for forensic analysis to determine his possible role in the wider terror network. His landlord was also questioned and his rent agreement and other related documents were checked,” an officer aware of the development said.Head of the cardiology department Dr. Umeshwar Pandey said, “We only came to know that the ATS had taken Dr. Arif for questioning. Beyond that, we have no information.”Also Read: ‘Calm person, never discussed religion’: Ex-husband of arrested doctor Shaheen ShahidPandey said that after completing his MBBS and MD, Dr. Arif had joined the institute as a first-year resident doctor. Due to a shortage of hostel facilities for first-year residents, they were living outside the campus, he added.Dr. Arif, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, studied medicine at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), another officer said. “He is a qualified interventional cardiologist and had been undergoing advanced training in interventional cardiology at GSVM Medical College for the past four months as part of the NEET-SS 2024 batch,” he added.Also Read: Red Fort blast| Faridabad circle: Doctors in the dockThe officer said Dr. Arif was detained for questioning over his alleged links with Dr. Shaheen Saeed.Dr Shaheen, 43, once a government medical lecturer in Kanpur, is among those arrested for her alleged role in a terror module stretching from Kashmir to Delhi. Investigators allege that Shaheen was living in Faridabad with Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaia, one of the module’s key accused, and that the two were in a relationship, according to officials of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).