In the high-stakes world of counter-terror operations, courage often comes in expected forms– uniforms, guns, and grit. But in Jammu & Kashmir, one of India’s most remarkable breakthroughs was led by a man who once wore a doctor’s coat. IPS Dr G. V. Sundeep Chakravarthy, a former physician turned police officer, describes himself simply as “a pragmatist by conviction.” That pragmatism would soon dismantle what came to be known as the “White Coat Terror Module” – and prevent a major terror attack in Delhi-NCR.
It began quietly in Nowgam-Bunpora. A few posters signed by a supposed Jaish-e-Mohammed commander warned locals against aiding “Indian predators.” To many, they looked like relics of past propaganda. But something about them struck Chakravarthy as wrong. Instead of brushing them aside, he registered a UAPA case overnight. It was instinct sharpened by years in the valley- the ability to sense danger in the mundane.
His team’s review of CCTV footage identified three familiar faces- former stone-pelters hovering near the posters. Their interrogation opened doors the police had never expected- leading straight to a Shopian cleric, Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, and deeper into a hidden terror web stretching from Kashmir to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
And then the most shocking layer surfaced: doctors.
The so-called “white-coat module” involved highly educated medical professionals radicalised into aiding extremist plans. Arrests included Kashmiri doctors Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, Adeel Ahmad Rather, and Dr Shaheen Sayeed. Seized materials- over 2,900 kg of explosive-making chemicals, bomb components, several AK-series rifles- pointed to a planned attack of devastating scale.
For Chakravarthy, the breakthrough was not luck but lived experience. Born in Kurnool in 1988, raised in a family of healthcare workers, he studied medicine before choosing the Indian Police Service in 2014. Since then, he has served in some of Kashmir’s most volatile zones- Uri, Sopore, Handwara, Kupwara, Kulgam, Anantnag- earning ten gallantry medals along the way.
Yet, he remains disarmingly humble. “Heroes don’t always roar,” his colleagues often quote him saying. Sometimes, they simply notice what others overlook and change the ending.
Thanks to the doctor who chose to fight terror with strategy instead of a stethoscope, India sleeps a little safer tonight.
