Faridabad Terror Module: Why NIA's Doctor Probe Reveals New Threat

Investigators say that the Faridabad module members who executed the Delhi blasts were in touch with those who had studied MBBS in other countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh. Further, the agencies have also sought details of doctors working in multiple private hospitals in Delhi.

Officials say that they are cross-checking if Dr Umar Nabi, the bomber, was in touch with other doctors and was trying to rope him into the Faridabad module. When asked if this part of the probe was restricted only to doctors, an official said that, for now, that would be the focus. "In due course of time, we would extend it to other professionals as we believe that the intention was to create a massive white collared terror module," the official also added.

Dr Nabi, according to investigators, was in touch with not just individuals from Al Falah University but was also in touch with various other professionals. The probe would look to uncover this and also try and ascertain if others from outside the university were also radicalised.

Another official said that this is an important part of the probe as it would help in ascertaining the magnitude at which the module was working. Preliminary investigations show that the Faridabad module members were in the process of establishing similar networks in various other places. However, they wanted only professionals as part of these modules.

The agencies are also studying the CCTV footage at the university and are questioning every person that the module members met with. Around 30 people have been questioned, and more are expected to be summoned by the agency.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that had Nabi and the others been successful in their plans, then they would have ended up creating one of the most dangerous modules that the country has seen. Having a mammoth module of which only professionals are part would have become a security headache for the agencies. Professionals who join such modules are extremely dangerous as they are ideological terrorists and are not part of it for the money.

Moreover, they are less scrutinised owing to their profession. Further, they are extremely committed, and their intelligence always comes in handy when it comes to engaging in conversations through encrypted applications. They are also quick learners, and this suits terror groups since they have to spend very little time on teaching to procure and assemble the explosives.

The probe found that another accused, Dr Shaheen Shahid, had made several visits to Jammu and Kashmir to meet her handler, Maulvi Irfan Ahmed. Not once did she come under the radar, and this was largely to do with her profession.

Terror groups thrive on such individuals, as the detection is very low or at times nil. During the multiple visits she made, apart from discussing the blasts that were to be executed, she also spoke about having an all-women module comprising only professionals.

On Thursday, she was taken to Faridabad by the NIA, following which she was escorted to the hostel where she had lived. She is being questioned about her visits to Jammu and Kashmir and also the interaction she had with various other persons.

- IANS