"Differences Over Going To Australia, Divorced In 2012": Terror Suspect's Ex

Lucknow-based woman doctor Dr Shaheen Saeed, who was arrested in connection with a massive explosives haul in Faridabad hours before the bomb blast near Red Fort, held liberal views and wasn't particularly religious, her former husband Dr Hayat Zafar has said.

Shaheen also wanted the family, which includes two children, to settle in Australia or Europe before the couple separated in 2012, he added. 

According to investigators, Shaheen, who hails from Daliganj in Lucknow and was arrested on Monday, was leading the Jaish-e-Mohammed's women recruitment wing in India. She headed the Jamaat-ul-Mominat, the group's female wing.

#NDTVExclusive | Dr Hayat Zafar, ex husband of Dr Shaheen, one of the suspects of the #DelhiBlast case speaks exclusively to NDTV - Watch pic.twitter.com/gHIsJpyeqz

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"I have no links with her. I do not share any close ties with her. We parted ways in 2012. We have two children and they stay with me. We had an arranged marriage. I haven't been in touch with her since we separated," Dr Hayat said.

"She was never particularly religious, and she was a liberal. She intended for us to settle in Australia or Europe. After that, we separated," he added. 

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Dr Hayat said he and Shaheen had differences over going to Australia. "We had differences over going to Australia. My children do not talk to her. She was a professor of pulmonology. In 2006 she completed her degree," he said.

Shaheen is also associated with Al-Falah University in Faridabad and was closely linked to Dr Muzammil, a Kashmiri doctor who was also arrested over the seizure of 2,900 kg of explosives and inflammable materials from his two rented rooms in Faridabad.

The arrest came on a day when a blast ripped through a vehicle near Delhi's Red Fort Metro Station, killing at least nine people and injuring several others. 

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Police sources said over 52 people, including faculty members, students, and the principal of the medical college, were interrogated in connection with the recovery of the explosives at the university. 

On Tuesday, Shaheen's father said he didn't know that she could be involved in such activities.

Her father, Syed Ahmad Ansari, told IANS that Dr Shaheen has three siblings.

"My eldest son, Shoaib, lives here with me. The second, Shaheen Syed, was arrested yesterday. She studied medicine in Allahabad. My younger son, Parvez Ansari, whose house was raided this morning, left the city long ago," he said.

Ansari said Shaheen worked in Faridabad and was married to a Zafar.

"I cannot believe that my daughter was involved in such activities," he said.

He said both Shaheen and Zafar pursued medical studies, adding that he has not met them for the last one-and-a-half years.

"I last spoke to Shaheen about a month ago, but I talk to Zafar almost every week. I had no idea about Shaheen's arrest," he said.

Teams from the NIA and ATS also visited the house of Dr Shaheen's father in Lucknow following her arrest in the Faridabad terror module case.

A professor at Al-Falah University earlier alleged Saeed often misbehaved on the campus. "Saeed did not adhere to discipline. She would leave without informing anyone," the professor said on condition of anonymity.

"Many people used to come to meet her at the college. Her behavior was often strange. Complaints against her too had been made to the management," she added.

(With inputs from Arun Agrawal)