'No One Suspects Doctors': The Terror Plot Behind Faridabad Explosives Haul

The two doctors linked to the 2,900-kg haul of bomb-making material in Faridabad near Delhi were in regular touch with their handlers in Kashmir and were awaiting details of their target, top sources in the security establishment have said.

Dr Adeel and Dr Muzammil have told the police during interrogation that they were chosen for the task because the handlers believed "no one would suspect doctors in Delhi NCR", the sources said. The doctors were told to wait for details regarding their target.

The conspiracy, the sources said, was hatched in Pakistan, and the directions were coming through handlers in Kashmir. Police said this terror module was linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. The operation has led to the arrest of key operatives and recovery of a massive cache of arms, ammunition and explosives, during coordinated searches in J&K and other states.

The doctors' interrogation suggests that creating communal disturbance in Delhi NCR was also part of the plan, the sources said, adding that the target could have been anywhere in NCR.

The doctors, they said, were also involved in treating injured terrorists in Kashmir between 2018 and 2021.

Irfan Ahmed, a cleric and the Imam of a mosque, is the alleged kingpin behind the radicalisation of these doctors, the sources said. This cleric was also linked to the most-wanted terrorist Zakir Musa, who was gunned down in an encounter in 2019. The two doctors have also admitted to pasting posters supporting Jaish-e-Mohammad in Nowgam last month. Muzammil's colleague, Dr Shaheen Shahid, whose car was used to hide arms in Faridabad, has also been arrested.

The Beginning: Posters in Kashmir

On October 19, posters of Jaish were found pasted at different locations in Bunpora Nowgam. The posters, Jammu and Kashmir police have said, threatened police and other security personnel. A case was registered under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Explosive Substances Act, and Arms Act, and an investigation began. "The investigation has revealed a white collar terror ecosystem, involving radicalized professionals and students in contact with foreign handlers, operating from Pakistan and other countries," Jammu and Kashmir police have said. They have added that this group used encrypted channels for indoctrination, coordination, fund movement and logistics. "Funds were raised through professional and academic networks, under the guise of social/charitable causes. The accused were found involved in identifying persons, to radicalise, initiate and recruit them to terrorist ranks, besides raising funds, arranging logistics, procurement of arms/ammunition and material for preparing IEDs," they said.

The Saharanpur Arrest

As part of their investigation, Jammu and Kashmir police scanned CCTV footage of Srinagar areas where the Jaish posters appeared. They identified Adeel, who worked at the Government Medical College in Anantnag till October last year, before moving to Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. A Jammu and Kashmir police team travelled to Saharanpur, where Adeel had started working at a private hospital. He was arrested last week. Adeel, police have said, is from Wanpora in Kulgam. An assault rifle was recovered when police searched his locker in the Anantnag medical college.

The Faridabad Haul

During the investigation, another doctor's name came up. Muzammil, originally from Pulwama, had been working as a senior doctor in Faridabad's Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences & Research Centre for the past three years. He lived on the campus, but had rented two homes outside. When police raided these homes, they were shocked to find 12 suitcases packed with explosive material, suspected to be ammonium nitrate. The explosive material recovered in the two raids added up to 2,900 kg. Police also found timers and other suspicious items on the premises. Muzammil's woman colleague, who has now been arrested, came under the scanner after weapons and ammunition, including an assault rifle, were recovered from her Maruti Suzuki car.

Arrests And Recovery

Jammu and Kashmir police have said a total of seven people have been arrested in this case. They include the two doctors, Arif Nisar, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, Maqsood Ahmad Dar, cleric Irfan Ahmad, and Zameer Ahmad Ahanger. Police have said that the roles of more individuals have surfaced, and they will be caught, too.

The police statement has also detailed the huge recovery of arms and ammunition. The police said that the 2,900 kg of bomb-making material recovered in the raids includes chemicals, reagents, inflammable material, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote control, timers, and metal sheets. These materials could be used to make Improvised Explosive Devices, commonly known as IEDs. The weapons recovered include a Chinese Star pistol, a Beretta pistol, an AK-56 rifle, and an AK Krinkov rifle.

Police are yet to uncover the specifics of what this terror module was planning, but the recovery of such a large amount of bomb-making material so close to the national capital has set off alarm bells within the security establishment, who are now trying to get to the bottom of this.