Kashmir "White-Collar" Terror Cell Exposed: Doctors and Academics Coordinated Suicide Attack Linked to JeM
22 professionals, 2,900kg explosives, one suicide bomber—how a Pakistan-linked terror cell infiltrated India's medical establishment.
From Posters to Panic
The investigation originated on October 19, 2025, when JeM propaganda posters appeared on walls in Srinagar’s Bunpora Nowgam area. These posters, signed “Commander Hanzala Bhai” and dated October 17, threatened security forces and warned against “sheltering Indian predators.” Srinagar Police Commissioner G V Sundeep Chakravarthy ordered CCTV analysis to trace the posters’ origin. Within days, three overground workers involved in stone-pelting cases were identified and arrested: Arif Nisar Dar (alias Sahil), Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar (alias Shahid). Their interrogation led investigators to Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a 45-year-old cleric and imam at Nowgam mosque in Shopian, who had formerly worked as a paramedic at Government Medical College Srinagar.
Irfan Ahmad’s questioning between October 19 and early November provided the critical breakthrough. He revealed a network of radicalized doctors he had personally recruited and indoctrinated using encrypted communication platforms. Police discovered Irfan maintained contact lists containing the personal details of multiple doctors, which first aroused suspicion given his background as a paramedic. His aide, Zameer Ahmad Ahanger (alias Mutlasha), 29, arrested October 25 from Wakoora village in Ganderbal, confirmed the existence of weapons caches and provided logistical support on Irfan’s directions. Ahanger’s interrogation revealed the presence of an AK-47 assault rifle stored at Dr Muzammil Shakeel’s residence—the first concrete evidence of armed preparation.
2,900 Kilograms of Concealed Explosives
Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, 35, a physician from Pulwama working in the emergency department of Al-Falah University Hospital in Faridabad, emerged as the operational mastermind of the logistics network. He was arrested on November 9. Police raids of his rented room in Dhauj, Faridabad, uncovered 2,900 kilograms of explosive materials, including approximately 360 kilograms of ammonium nitrate stored in suitcases, a Krinkov assault rifle with three magazines and 83 live rounds, a pistol with eight bullets, two magazines, two empty shell casings, electronic detonation devices, timers, batteries, and IED-making components. This represented one of the largest seizures of explosive materials recovered in India in recent years.
The explosives materials seized in Faridabad originated from multiple sources and were accumulated systematically over approximately two years, according to officer assessments. The network procured materials through logistical channels managed by Hafiz Mohd Ishtiyak, a Mewat-based cleric responsible for procurement and secure storage in Faridabad safe houses. The group had conducted reconnaissance of major Indian cities, including Azadpur Mandi in Delhi, fruit markets in Ahmedabad, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) office in Lucknow, indicating preparation for multi-site attack planning. Investigators concluded the module had been “planning multiple blasts, with materials already procured, reconnaissance completed and devices ready” while “awaiting final authorisation from their Pakistan handler” before disruption.
