A Lucknow-based woman doctor, arrested in connection with a massive explosives haul in Faridabad near Delhi, was tasked with establishing the women's wing of the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in India, according to Delhi Police sources.
Dr Shaheen Shahid was handed charge of the India branch of the JeM's women's wing, Jamaat ul-Mominaat, which is headed by JeM founder Masood Azhar's sister Sadia Azhar in Pakistan.
Sadia Azhar's husband, Yusuf Azhar, was a mastermind in the Kandahar hijacking and was reportedly killed during Operation Sindoor on May 7.
Shaheen Shahid is a resident of Lucknow's Lal Bagh, according to officials. She was arrested after JeM's terror module in Faridabad was busted, and an assault rifle was recovered from her car.
Shaheen is reportedly part of Al-Falah University and closely associated with Kashmiri doctor Muzammil Ganaie, alias Musaib, who was arrested after 2,900 kg of explosives and inflammable material were recovered from his two rented rooms in Faridabad.
A native of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, Muzammil was a doctor at Al Falah University at Dhauj, around 45 km from Delhi. Muzammil was arrested after the J-K Police named him as a wanted person in a case involving posters put up in Srinagar in support of the Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Investigators have found that a car that was used to store an assault rifle, a pistol, and ammunition belonged to Shaheen Shahid. The Maruti Suzuki Swift, which has a licence plate with Faridabad's code HR 51, was searched after cops questioned Muzammil.
His revelations also helped the police find a massive tranche of explosive material suspected to be ammonium nitrate, 20 timers, and other suspicious items.
JeM, which suffered a crippling blow during India's Operation Sindoor, reportedly stepped up efforts to revive its footprint, including in India, and announced the formation of its first-ever women's wing, named Jamaat-ul-Mominaat, in October.
According to reports, the recruitment for the new unit began on October 8 at Markaz Usman-o-Ali in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
Sadiya Azhar, the sister of Masood Azhar, heads the group, which is reportedly enlisting wives of JeM commanders as well as economically vulnerable women studying at its centres in Bahawalpur, Karachi, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Haripur, and Mansehra.
