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Red Fort blast: Two more doctors picked up in UP by probe agencies, taken to Delhi for questioning

LUCKNOW: Intensifying its crackdown on a suspected terror network across Uttar Pradesh, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the state police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) detained Dr Mohammad Arif, 32, in Kanpur. Dr Arif is a senior resident doctor in the cardiology department of the Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GSVM) Medical College, a government institution. The special cell of the Delhi police also detained Dr Farooq, an assistant professor at the GS Medical College in the state's Hapur district, for questioning. So far, the probe agencies have arrested or detained five doctors from UP -- Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather, Dr Shaheen Saeed, Dr Parvez Ansari, Dr Farooq and Dr Mohammad Arif -- in connection with the Red Fort blast in Delhi. Dr Arif was picked up from his rented flat in Kanpurs Ashok Nagar area by the investigating agencies late on Wednesday night. A native of Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Arif joined GSVM Medical College in August. He is being questioned over his alleged links with the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)-backed Faridabad terror module suspected of involvement in the Red Fort blast that claimed 12 lives. Acting on intelligence inputs, the ATS raided the premises and detained him for questioning. His personal electronic devices and communication records have also been seized for forensic analysis to determine his possible role in the wider terror network. His landlord was also questioned and his rent agreement and other related documents were checked, said an officer aware of the development. The head of the cardiology department of GSVM Medical College, Dr Umeshwar Pandey, confirmed that the ATS had taken Dr Arif for questioning. Pandey said that after completing his MBBS and MD, Dr Arif had joined the institute as a first-year resident doctor. Due to a shortage of hostel facilities for first-year residents, he was living outside the campus, he added. Delhi blast: Cops seal area around car linked to terror module in Faridabad; man who parked it held Dr Arif studied medicine at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, another officer said. He is a qualified interventional cardiologist and had been undergoing advanced training in interventional cardiology at GSVM Medical College for the past four months as part of the NEET-SS 2024 batch, he added. According to officials, Dr Arif was taken to Delhi for questioning. Preliminary enquiries showed that he had been in touch with Dr Shaheen Saeed and her brother Dr Parvez Ansari, both under investigation for alleged involvement in the same network. Dr Shaheen, 43, once a lecturer at GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, was arrested in Faridabad for her alleged role in the terror module stretching from Kashmir to Delhi. Meanwhile, Dr Farooq, who was picked up by the probe agencies from Hapur, is a gynaecologist and an assistant professor in the Obstetrics Department at GS Medical College. He is a native of Jammu and Kashmir and had been living in the college hostel for about a year. Dr Manoj Sisodia, Director of GS Medical College, Hapur, confirmed that police officers visited the college, questioned Dr Farooq, and then took him into custody. Dr Farooqs name surfaced during the interrogation of Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie, the key suspect in the terror module, arrested from Faridabad with a large haul of explosives, said officials. Both Dr Farooq and Dr Muzammil completed their MBBS and MD degrees from Al-Falah University in Faridabad. The investigating agencies picked up Dr Farooq suspecting his role in the supply of explosives and networking for the terror plot. He has also been taken to Delhi for further questioning. Delhi blast: Suspects pooled in over Rs 26 lakh to buy materials for bomb-making