Delhi blast: The chilling trail of ‘Madam Surgeon’ and ‘D-6 mission’ that spanned six cities

Investigators are piecing together what they say is a years-long terror project involving Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). At the centre of this investigation is 43-year-old Dr Shaheen Shahid, a former medical college doctor who officials claim became the “Madam Surgeon” of a cross-border terror network linked to the November 10 New Delhi car blast and planned attacks in six cities.

According to the investigators, Shaheen was arrested from Faridabad and is believed to be one of the key operational assets of the terror module. Digital files, handwritten diaries and planning notes seized from her are now crucial pieces of evidence. These documents allegedly refer to a coordinated strike planned for December 6, marking what the group called an “avenge mission” for the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition.

Investigators say the seized documents include plans titled “D-6 Mission”, with detailed target lists, recruitment strategies, money trails and secure communication methods.

Network of medics and money trail

Along with Shaheen, the probe has identified two Kashmiri doctors, Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Dr Umar Un Nabi, as part of the same module. Officials claim all three had been inducted into a deeper JeM-linked structure around 2021.

A key part of the investigation is a suspected Rs 20-lakh hawala channel, believed to have been routed through a JeM handler for operational work. Agencies say the money may have been used for recruiting new members, arranging safe houses, buying secure phones and conducting reconnaissance.

Investigators have now launched a detailed audit of Shaheen’s finances. They are examining every major transaction across her seven bank accounts in Kanpur, Lucknow and Delhi. Officials are also reconstructing her movements in Kanpur, focusing on her time at GSVM Medical College, where she worked until her sudden disappearance.

Colleagues describe her as soft-spoken, reserved and struggling through a difficult divorce. Many remember her bringing her young child to work because “there was no one at home.” She lived in a campus house and kept cordial relations with co-workers. But in December 2013, she unexpectedly handed over her responsibilities and left, telling colleagues she would return by January 4, 2014. She never came back.

A 2016 verification team found her registered address to be incorrect. She was officially dismissed in 2021.

Foreign links and the ‘green signal’

Interrogations have revealed that in March 2022, members of the module travelled to Turkiye to meet ISI handler Abu Ukasha. It was during this trip, officials claim, that they received a “green signal” to move ahead with the planned December 6 attacks.

The timeline investigators are rebuilding stretches back more than a decade, from Shaheen’s ideological drift around 2010, to her association with JeM circles in 2015-16, and finally, the structured operational planning from 2021.

A former colleague recalled that Shaheen began changing around 2010 after interacting with an Indian-origin doctor overseas who sent her ideological videos and literature. She started wearing a hijab, spoke often about moving abroad, and gradually withdrew from friends and family.

According to a report by TOI, her ideological transformation was complete by 2021. When confronted by a relative about abandoning her marriage, job and responsibilities, she allegedly replied: “I have lived enough for myself. Now it’s time to repay the debt of my community.”