Delhi car blast case: Shaheen & Parvez's travels abroad hold key to terror plot

LUCKNOW: The UP anti-terrorist squad (ATS) has expanded its probe into the foreign travels and overseas associations of Dr Shaheen Shahid, arrested in the white-collar error module case, and her detained brother Dr Parvez.

Investigators are treating the international travels of the siblings as a crucial thread in understanding the radical network they are suspected to be part of, senior officers told TOI. The inquiry now spans Saudi Arabia, Maldives and Turkey, apart from multiple Indian states. According to ATS sources, Shaheen stayed in Saudi Arabia for two years in 2013-2014. Investigators are examining where she lived, worked in the medical sector as claimed, and whether she came in contact with any individuals monitored by foreign intelligence agencies.

Her interactions, local references and financial inflows during her stay abroad are being mapped to determine whether any link connects her to the JeM module under investigation.

Parvez's visit to the Maldives in 2016 is also being analysed. While he reportedly worked at a private establishment there, ATS is probing if his stay overlapped with any known recruiters or radical influencers operating in the island nation.

His bank transactions, employer history and communication records during his years abroad are now part of the expanded scrutiny.Although there is no evidence yet that any of the brother-sister duo visited any "enemy country", investigators have zeroed in on a Turkish national with whom Shaheen maintained online communication. Agencies are tracing the individual's identity, digital footprint and potential role, if any, in guiding or influencing her activities.Officials said the case remains in its "formative but high-priority stage," with multiple leads pointing towards coordinated foreign exposure, suspicious communication patterns, and deliberate identity manipulation.