Woman doctor held in blast case married Maharashtra man, divorced in 2015: Police

Mumbai, Nov 11 (PTI) A woman doctor from Lucknow, who was among eight people arrested after the busting of an inter-state terror module, had married a man from Maharashtra, but the couple got divorced in 2015, a police official said here on Tuesday.

Citing initial information, the official said Dr Shaheen Sayeed, also named in Monday's Delhi car blast case, had married a Maharashtra resident named Zafar Hayat.

Their marriage did not work for long and in 2015, the couple parted ways, he said without providing more details like the native place of the woman's former husband in the state or his profession.

After divorce, Sayeed, associated with Al Falah University in Haryana's Faridabad, was staying alone and there is a possibility that she may have been indoctrinated during this period, the official said.

Earlier on the day, the doctor's father admitted in Lucknow that his daughter had married a man from Maharashtra.

As more details emerge, investigating agencies may expand the scope of the probe and cover the state as well, the official said.

Eight people, including three doctors, were arrested on Monday, and 2,900 kg of explosives seized in Faridabad with the uncovering of a "white collar" terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Among those arrested following a 15-day operation was Sayeed, who originally hails from Lucknow.

The doctor was part of the newly formed Jamaat-ul-Mominaat, an organisation launched by banned Jaish-e-Mohammed last month, officials claimed in New Delhi on the basis of preliminary investigations.

Sayeed is alleged to be part of Jaish-e-Mohammed's (JeM) women recruitment wing in India.

The officials alleged that Sayeed, believed to be in her mid 30s, was in touch with her handler in Pakistan with possible instructions to recruit more and more women for terror activities.

In Lucknow, her father pleaded his ignorance about her involvement in terror activities and said he had come to know about her arrest through media only. PTI DC RSY