Delhi blast probe: UP ATS examines Dr Shaheen, Dr Parvez’s Saudi, Maldives, Turkey links

Dr Shaheena Shahid

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has widened its investigation into a suspected white-collar terror module, now scrutinising extensive foreign travels and overseas associations of an arrested doctor and her detained brother.

According to a report in TOI, the international itineraries of Dr Shaheen Shahid and Dr Parvez are being treated as a critical lead in unravelling the radical network they are alleged to be part of. The inquiry, spanning Saudi Arabia, the Maldives and Turkey, aims to trace potential links to extremist elements abroad.

Senior officers were cited by TOI as saying that the case, while in its "formative but high-priority stage," is being driven by multiple leads pointing towards coordinated foreign exposure, suspicious communication patterns and alleged identity manipulation.

The ATS’s scrutiny focuses intently on Dr Shaheen Shahid’s two-year stay in Saudi Arabia between 2013 and 2014. Investigators are working to verify her claimed employment in the kingdom’s medical sector and are mapping her interactions, local references and any financial inflows during that period.

A central objective is to determine if she established contact with individuals monitored by foreign intelligence agencies, potentially connecting her to the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) module under investigation.

Parallelly, the probe is examining Dr Parvez’s visit to the Maldives in 2016. While he is reported to have worked at a private establishment there, the ATS is probing whether his stay overlapped with the operations of any known radical recruiters or influencers based in the island nation. His bank transactions, employment history and communication records from his time abroad have been brought under expanded scrutiny.

Officials emphasised that there is currently no evidence either sibling visited an "enemy country." However, investigators have identified a specific Turkish national with whom Dr Shaheen Shahid maintained online communication. Agencies are now working to trace this individual’s identity, digital footprint and any potential role in guiding or influencing her activities.