Seventh Arrest in Delhi Blast Case: Suicide Bomber’s Close Aide Shoaib Held in Faridabad

Digital Desk

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested Shoaib, a 27-year-old ward boy at Al-Falah University and a close associate of suicide bomber Dr Umar Nabi, who carried out the deadly blast outside Delhi’s Pracheen Mandir last month. Shoaib, a resident of Dhauj village in Faridabad, is accused of providing critical logistical support to Umar in the run-up to the terror attack.

According to NIA sources, Shoaib arranged a rented room for Umar at his sister-in-law Afsana’s house in Nuh, Haryana, where the terrorist stayed for 10 days before travelling to Delhi on the day of the explosion. Investigators say Shoaib also helped transport materials linked to the terror plot.

This is the seventh arrest in the case, which has exposed a chilling “white-collar terror module” comprising highly educated professionals, including government doctors and university faculty.

NIA to Bring Two More Doctors to Faridabad for Identification

The agency is set to bring Dr Adil Ahmed and Dr Shaheen Saeed – both already in custody – to Al-Falah University campus in Faridabad for on-site identification and reconstruction of events.

Dr Adil Ahmed, arrested on October 26 from Saharanpur in a joint operation with J&K and UP Police, was a long-time friend of suicide bomber Umar Nabi. The two had worked together as government doctors at a hospital in Anantnag, Kashmir. An AK-47 was recovered from Adil’s house in Kulgam.

During sustained interrogation, Adil reportedly broke down and revealed explosive hideouts in Fatehpur Taga and Dhauj villages, citing the “dense Muslim population and easy availability of rented rooms without paperwork”. His disclosures led to the recovery of large quantities of explosives on November 9 and the subsequent arrest of another module member, Dr Muzammil Shakeel.

Lady Doctor Shaheen Saeed Under Scanner for Recruitment Role

Dr Shaheen Saeed, who ranked third in the university’s curriculum committee, is suspected of playing a major role in brainwashing and recruiting youth into the terror network. NIA wants to establish how weapons found in her car reached the university campus and who all attended clandestine meetings organised by her.

On November 24, Dr Muzammil Shakeel was brought to Faridabad, Sohna, and Fatehpur Taga, where he identified two fertiliser shops – Lakshmi Beej Bhandar and Madan Beej Bhandar – from where he purchased ammonium nitrate in early 2023. He also admitted to receiving 42 instructional videos from a foreign handler on making improvised explosive devices.

A Network of Educated Professionals

The investigation has stunned security agencies with the involvement of highly qualified individuals:

- Suicide bomber Dr Umar Nabi – Assistant Professor at Al-Falah University

- Dr Adil Ahmed – Former government doctor in Anantnag, later working in Saharanpur

- Dr Shaheen Saeed – Senior faculty member

- Dr Muzammil Shakeel – Another doctor in the module

- Shoaib – Ward boy who provided ground-level support

Investigators are now poring over visitor logs, hostel records, and call detail records to map the full extent of the network operating out of the university campus.

The NIA says more arrests are likely as the probe into the “doctors’ terror module” behind the Delhi Pracheen Mandir blast deepens.