Kashmir doctors grilled as probe into ‘white-collar’ terror widens

Investigative agencies probing the Delhi blast and the “white-collar” interstate terror module have detained several doctors from the Valley for questioning in connection with the two “highly radicalised” medics involved in the case, officials told The Tribune on Wednesday.

Hours after the J&K Police announced the busting of the terror module on Monday, in which eight persons, including three doctors, were arrested, a deadly car explosion took place near Delhi’s Red Fort. A doctor from Kashmir, Umer un-Nabi, who was part of the module and went missing, is suspected to have been driving the i20 car that exploded.

Officials from Central agencies and the Delhi Police have reached the Valley as part of the probe. Sources said the agencies had detained several doctors in the Valley for questioning. These doctors were reportedly linked to Dr Umer un-Nabi and Dr Muzamil Ahmad Ganai and were being questioned to gather leads in the ongoing investigation.

Both Umer and Muzamil were working at Al-Falah University in Dhauj, Faridabad, and the busting of the module had led to the recovery of over 2,900 kg of material used for making improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

A senior police official said on Wednesday that initial investigation indicated the duo were key members of the group and closely associated with each other. “So far, we have been able to gather that Muzamil was highly radicalised along with Umer,” the official said.

Sources said the two doctors had been in touch since 2018 and had been collecting explosives and other materials for months. They had also made frequent trips to various locations, including visits to Red Fort.

According to officials, the group was planning larger attacks in the region. “It looks like they intended to carry out major terror strikes. Their plans failed only after the arrests and the module’s exposure,” the official said.

Investigators also found that apart from the Hyundai i20 that exploded near the Red Fort, another car linked to Umer was used by Muzamil. Efforts. The car was later found abandoned in Faridabad.

In the Valley, the authorities are preparing to hand over the case related to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) posters -- the starting point of the investigation that led police to a major terror network -- to the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s State Investigation Agency (SIA), a specialised agency similar to the NIA.

Last month, the J&K Police began investigating a case involving JeM posters carrying threats to security personnel, which had appeared at several locations in Srinagar’s Bunpora Nowgam. As the police picked up suspects, they uncovered a terror module with links across different states.

The sources said the SIA would examine all aspects of the case to unearth the conspiracy and the wider terror network operating in and outside the Valley.