From topper to key terror suspect: Curious case of Lucknow doctor

LUCKNOW: Dr Shaheen Shahid, from Lucknow, arrested in connection with massive explosives recovery in Faridabad and linked to Jaish-e-Muhammed terror module behind the Delhi blast, was a class topper.

She had cracked UP Public Service Commission to join Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College, Kanpur, as an assistant professor. Shaheen (46) hails from Kandhari Bazar, in Lucknow's Kaiserbagh. Her arrest came after the recovery of a Russian assault rifle and live cartridges from a car registered in her name, reportedly used by Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, who is also under investigation for terror links.

She was picked up from Faridabad, Haryana, and later arrested by Jammu and Kashmir police. UP ATS officials said Shaheen was born and brought up in Lucknow. She topped her Class 10 and 12 examinations at a govt girls' college in Lucknow and did her MBBS and MD from a govt medical college in Prayagraj. Police said her first husband was an ophthalmologist. After her divorce, she developed a relationship with Muzammil, police said.

Former colleagues told TOI that she divorced the first husband in 2015 and had been living in Lucknow since then. In 2006, Shaheen joined pharmacology department at GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, as an assistant professor. In 2009, she was transferred for six months to Kannauj Medical College and returned to Kanpur in 2010. However, as per college records, she stopped reporting for duty in 2013 without any official leave or notice.

Despite several attempts at communication, including multiple notices from the college administration, she never responded.

Colleagues tried to reach out to her but failed to make contact. Eventually, in 2021, the govt terminated her services. After leaving GSVM, Shaheen became associated with Al-Falah University in Haryana, where she reportedly met Muzammil, who is now a prime suspect in a wider investigation into suspected terror funding and ideological indoctrination networks.