Red Fort blast: As police probe Lucknow link, woman doctor and her brother are taken into custody
Officials say Dr Shaheen Shahid Ansari was employed at Faridabad’s Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, where at least two other accused – Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganai, who was arrested earlier, and Dr Umar Nabi, the suspected Red Fort blast accused – were working
4 min readLucknowUpdated: Nov 12, 2025 09:59 AM IST
Coming back to the Red Fort blast, given the recovery of explosives, it seems the perpetrators had a far bigger terrorist plot in mind (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)
Two doctors from Lucknow, who are siblings, have been taken into custody as part of the probe into the alleged “transnational and interstate” module unearthed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, The Indian Express has learnt.
Police said the duo have been identified as Dr Shaheen Shahid Ansari and her brother Dr Parvez Ansari. Their parents live in Kandhari Bazar in the old city area.
On Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), along with the J&K Police, carried out searches and questioned the family. A senior officer confirmed the development and said the siblings are in the custody of the J&K police, who are questioning them along with other suspects.
Dr Shaheen was employed at Faridabad’s Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, where at least two other accused – Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganai, who was arrested earlier, and Dr Umar Nabi, the suspected Red Fort blast accused – were working, officials said. A fourth doctor, Adeel Majeed Rather, was arrested from Saharanpur, where he worked with a private hospital.
On Tuesday, sources said a joint team of the J&K Police and UP ATS conducted searches at Dr Parvez’s rented home in Lucknow’s Mutakkipur locality. According to officials, the team collected laptops, mobile handsets, SIM cards, papers, and train and flight tickets.
The team later went to the family home, where they spoke with the siblings’ father. Sources said the team collected details about how often they visit home and what they last spoke about, it is learnt. Her father told the police that Shaheen had not visited the Lucknow home for over five years and she had spoken to him a month ago, sources said.
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The team also collected mobile numbers and details of their relatives in Lucknow, other UP districts, and other states, it is learnt.
A senior officer told The Indian Express that Dr Shaheen completed her MBBS and MD from Allahabad SRN Medical College and joined GSVM Medical University in Kanpur in 2006 after she cleared the UP Public Service Commission exam. She was an assistant professor in the Pharmacology department. Sources said she, however, left the medical institution in 2013 without giving any information and never joined back. She was terminated from services in 2013 after she did not respond to the notices.
She had been working with Al Falah, where she allegedly came into contact with Dr Ganai. It is suspected that Dr Ganai had used her vehicle, and when raids were conducted following his arrest, a weapon was recovered inside.
Sources said she was married to an ophthalmologist; the couple got divorced in 2015.
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Dr Parvez did his MBBS from Lucknow’s Era Medical College and his post-graduation in Internal Medicine from a college in Agra. He joined Lucknow’s Integral University in 2021 as a senior resident and resigned on November 6.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior official said the inputs collected and shared by the central agencies and the J&K Police indicate that more members connected with the module could be in Uttar Pradesh.
When contacted, UP DGP Rajeev Krishna told The Indian Express, “We are in touch with central agencies and other states and working with regard to the investigation. The UP Police and the ATS are on alert, keeping a watch on major installations and sensitive places in the state.”
Bhupendra Pandey is the Resident Editor of the Lucknow edition of The Indian Express. With decades of experience in the heart of Uttar Pradesh’s journalistic landscape, he oversees the bureau’s coverage of India’s most politically significant state. His expertise lies in navigating the complex intersections of state governance, legislative policy, and grassroots social movements. From tracking high-stakes assembly elections to analyzing administrative shifts in the Hindi heartland, Bhupendra’s reportage provides a definitive lens on the region's evolution.
Authoritativeness He leads a team of seasoned reporters and investigators, ensuring that The Indian Express’ signature "Journalism of Courage" is reflected in every regional story. His leadership is central to the Lucknow bureau’s reputation for breaking stories that hold the powerful to account, making him a trusted figure for policy analysts, political scholars, and the general public seeking to understand the nuances of UP’s complex landscape.
Trustworthiness & Accountability Under his stewardship, the Lucknow edition adheres to the strictest standards of factual verification and non-partisan reporting. He serves as a bridge between the local populace and the national discourse, ensuring that regional issues are elevated with accuracy and context. By prioritizing primary-source reporting and on-the-ground verification, he upholds the trust that readers have placed in the Express brand for nearly a century. ... Read More
