Who is Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan, sacked by J&K LG, now under lens in Red Fort blast probe?

The probe into the car bomb blast outside the Red Fort in Delhi has uncovered a terror module with several doctors in it, and has led to another Kashmiri doctor Nisar-ul-Hassan who was dismissed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration in 2023.

After being fired from his job as an Associate Professor at SMHS Hospital in Srinagar on terror charges under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution, he reportedly joined the Al Falah University in Faridabad as a professor in the Department of Medicine.

Dr Hassan went underground after the car bomb blast on November 10, and his sudden disappearance has raised suspicion about his possible involvement with the terror module.

Came under scanner of security agencies

Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan was seen as a polarising figure for his alleged sympathies with Kashmiri separatist politics.

He came under the scanner of security agencies for his perceived ideological leanings towards separatists, his activism within the Doctors Association of Kashmir (DAK), and his blunt public statements.

So much so, the J&K Lieutenant Governor had reportedly once described him as a “ticking time bomb”.

Also Read: Two Al Falah University doctors detained in Red Fort blast probe

As the president of the doctors’ association, Hassan got into confrontations with the authorities on several occasions. He called for a strike in May 2013 after the spurious drugs scandal in J&K, which gained support from separatist groups like the Huriyat Conference.

In May 2014, the Omar Abdullah government suspended him from government service for allegedly urging government employees to stop paying taxes, to boycott election duty, and to strengthen institutions of freedom.

Hassan was reinstated in government service after four years in August 2018 during Governor’s Rule.

From 2018 to 2023, he maintained a low profile. However, his earlier history of confrontations resurfaced, and he was sacked from service.

Native of Sopore

Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan hails from Achabal village in Sopore, a region in Kashmir that was once a hotbed of militancy.

He completed his MBBS from Government Medical College, Srinagar in 1991, and his MD from the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in 2001.

Links with Dr Umar Nabi

Security agencies are now probing his association with Dr Mohammad Umar Nabi, the alleged mastermind of the Red Fort bomb blast conspiracy and the driver of the car that exploded.

Umar Nabi worked under Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan for more than a year at Al Falah University.

Also Read: Delhi blast: 15 doctors at Al Falah University are missing, say investigators

Investigators are trying to determine the true nature of their relationship and whether Dr Hassan was a part of the conspiracy.

Wife denies that he’s absconding

Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan’s wife Dr Suraiya denied that her husband is absconding, and said he has been “formally detained” by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for questioning along with several other students and faculty members of the Al Falah University.

Also Read: Red Fort blast: Bengal medical student arrested by NIA

Dr Suraiya told India Today that her husband’s relationship with Umar Nabi was strained, and claimed that Hassan had expressed his annoyance at Umar Nabi’s frequent absences from work, which led to Nabi moving to another ward.