Delhi blast probe: NIA raids Dr Shaheen Shahid’s Lucknow home over alleged terror funding, ‘revenge’ plot

Delhi blast probe

In a significant expansion of its probe into a sophisticated "white-collar" terror financing and radicalisation network, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted coordinated search operations across Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh on Monday. The investigation is linked to the November 10 car blast near Delhi’s historic Red Fort.

The raids, as reported by TOI, included a search at the Lucknow residence of former medical college faculty member Dr Shaheen Shahid, who is currently under arrest and in the agency’s custody. This marks the first time the NIA has searched Dr Shahid’s home in the city’s Lalbagh area, where her father and one brother still reside. Another brother, also a medical professional, was detained for questioning during the operation.

Dr Shahid’s arrest followed the recovery of a Russian-made rifle and ammunition from a car registered in her name. The vehicle was allegedly used by a co-accused identified as Muzammil. According to the NIA’s investigation, cited by TOI, Dr Shahid is accused of channelling approximately Rs 27 to 28 lakh into the module’s activities.

#WATCH | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh | NIA raid underway at the residence of Dr Shaheen, one of the accused in the Delhi bomb blast that took place on 10th November. pic.twitter.com/aFB2zwGy3O

— ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2025

Agency sources claim these funds included Rs 6.5 lakh earmarked for purchasing weapons and an additional Rs 3 lakh for a vehicle. Dr Shahid has reportedly contested these allegations, stating the transferred money was given as zakat, a form of obligatory alms-giving in Islam.

Investigators further assert that Dr Shahid was the sole female member of a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) module based in Faridabad. The NIA alleges she was in contact with Afira Biwi, the wife of Umar Farooq, the reported mastermind behind the 2019 Pulwama attack.

During these communications, they allegedly discussed a plan to target six Indian cities on December 6, a date symbolic to some groups as the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, framing it as an act of revenge.

The probe continues to develop as the NIA pieces together the chain of command, funding routes and operational plans of the module. The NIA also conducted coordinated raids at eight locations in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday. The operation, executed alongside local police targets a network investigators have characterised as ‘white collar terror’.