Updated on: November 12, 2025 | 09:59 PM IST

Kanpur: The former husband of Dr Shaheen Shahid, arrested from Faridabad on November 10 in connection with a terror-related investigation, has spoken about his surprise over her alleged involvement in the module.

Dr. Shaheen, 43, previously a government medical lecturer in Kanpur, is among those arrested for her alleged role in a terror network spanning Kashmir to Delhi.

Family Background

Dr. Zafar Hayat, an ophthalmologist at KPM Hospital in Lucknow, said he met Shaheen when she joined GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, and the couple married in 2003, having two children.

“The first few years of our marriage were good. The only difference between us was in our thinking — she wanted to go abroad, while I wanted to live in India. Shaheen often insisted that we should move to Australia or a European country,” Dr. Hayat said.

The couple divorced in 2015 after Shaheen left abruptly. He noted there had been no conflict during the marriage and that there was no contact afterward.

“Shaheen was a calm person, never discussed religion or ideology, and was deeply interested in her studies,” he added.

Dr. Hayat said he has not yet spoken to their children about the recent developments. “When she left, our children were very young — one had just started school. The elder child was seven and the younger one was four. She never tried to reach out afterward. I am raising them,” he said.

Alleged Involvement

Investigators allege that Shaheen was living in Faridabad with Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, a key accused in the terror module, and that the two were in a relationship, according to UP ATS officials.

Her younger brother, Dr Parvez Ansari, was also arrested for links to the same network on Tuesday. Additionally, her father, Shahid Ansari, a retired health department staffer, is from Hata Mustafa Khan in Khandari Bazar, Lucknow.

Police are investigating whether Shaheen personally transported explosives recovered in Faridabad or acted as a logistical facilitator. Authorities are scrutinizing her financial transactions, phone records, and encrypted communications to determine if she was in contact with handlers abroad or had prior knowledge of the module’s plans.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police have taken Shaheen into custodial interrogation in Srinagar as part of the ongoing investigation.