Eerie silence near Shaheen's ancestral home, kin in disbelief
LUCKNOW, Nov. 13 -- As the terror investigation unfolds into a suspected network of radicalised doctors, the family of Dr Shaheen Shahid - a name once held in high regard within the medical community - finds themselves grappling with disbelief and heartache, after it came to fore that the woman was alleged to be a key figure in the women's wing of Jaish-e-Mohammed.
According to investigators, Shaheen Shahid, a doctor associated with Al-Falah University in Faridabad, was among those arrested following Monday's explosion near the Red Fort. Police suspect she was linked to Dr Muzammil Ganaie, another faculty member at the same university, who is alleged to have been part of a "white-collar terror module" with ties to proscribed outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.
When HT visited her ancestral home in Hata Mustafa Khan, nestled in the bustling Kandhari Bazar area under Qaiserbagh police jurisdiction, a heavy silence hung in the air. Shaheen's ageing father, Saeed Ahmad Ansari, a retired health department officer, chose to keep himself secluded within the walls of their two-story residence, as media persons gathered outside, eager for answers.
Just the day before, Ansari shared that he had spoken to Shaheen over the phone about a month ago, unable to comprehend how her name could be connected to such alarming accusations.
While majority of neighbours too locked themselves inside their house and refused to talk to anyone, some of them echoed the same story, replying to queries. They said the family hardly spoke to anyone and they didn't even know she had kids.
Arshad Khan, who lives next to Shaheen's house, said: "She rarely came here. I don't even know exactly who lives in the house. She had come about two years ago, and hasn't been seen since." Mohd Chand Siddique, 35, another neighbour, said: "We have never seen Shahaeen and Parvez. However, the father and his elder brother are nice people and are very reserved."
Razia, 55, who has been living a few metres from Ansari's house for 40 years, said: "We have never seen Shaheen or her brother Parvez here. We have only seen their father."...
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