Al-Falah University Under Investigation After Links Emerge in Red Fort Blast Probe

Al-Falah University in Haryana is located on 70 acres of lush greenery in the Aravali foothills and is reached by a dusty, narrow road with wide stretches of agricultural area on both sides. A “white-collar” terror network, which consists of radicalized medical personnel, was planning a significant massacre inside this university, which is only 30 kilometers from the capital. Ten people were killed when one of the physicians detonated a car close to the Red Fort, but careful police work probably prevented a huge slaughter in Delhi.

TV cameras have been watching Al-Falah University in Dhauj village, Faridabad, after connections between the university and Dr. Umar Nabi, the main suspect in the Red Fort blast, surfaced. As police teams and investigators visit the institution to conduct inquiries, an odd quiet descends upon the campus. More than fifty doctors and staff have been questioned thus far.

In addition to Dr. Umar, the institution employed two of his collaborators, Drs. Muzammil Shakeel and Shaheen Shahid, who were thought to be involved in a terror module with the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. In fact, it’s thought that Dr. Shakeel’s arrest on Monday—from whose property 2,900 kg of IED-making material were found—caused a terrified Dr. Umar to quickly carry out the explosion the following day.

Particular attention has been paid to Dr. Shaheen’s role. According to sources, she was given the responsibility of establishing Jaish-e-Mohammed’s women’s section in India. Additionally, ammunition and rifles were found in her vehicle.

Drs. Shaheen and Shakeel are among the six university employees who have been jailed. Following the explosion, Nisar-ul-Hassan, another physician, vanished. An investigator looks at the location of Monday’s vehicle explosion close to the famed Red Fort

AL-FALAH UNIVERSITY VIEWS

The institution, which began as an engineering college in 1997, is now a major subject of the inquiry.

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an independent organization within the Union education ministry, awarded the Al-Falah Engineering College “A” category accreditation in 2013. But according to a report, the accreditation lapsed years ago.

It received university status under the Haryana Private Universities Act from the Haryana government a year later. A year later, in 2015, it was acknowledged by UGC.

The university, which is run by the Al-Falah Charitable Trust and registered in Delhi’s Okhla, is also connected to the Al-Falah Medical College.

Professor Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui is the chairperson of the trust and also the chancellor of the university since 2014. Since 1996, he has also served as Al-Falah Investments Limited’s managing director.

A report in The Milli Gazette in 2000 claimed that Siddiqui was arrested on charges of collecting billions of rupees by fraudulent means in Delhi. We don’t know much about him.

According to a 2000 article in The Milli Gazette, Siddiqui was detained in Delhi on suspicion of obtaining billions of rupees through Fraud. Regarding him, not much is known.

Dr. Bhupinder Kaur Anand, the medical college’s principal, is currently the vice chancellor.

According to an article in The Times of India, donations also come from Arab nations, despite the fact that the organization is managed by a charitable trust.

Al-Falah University was established with the intention of giving students from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds access to education. Actually, the university first presented itself as a rival to Jamia Millia Islamia and the renowned Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

Additionally, it runs a small hospital with about 700 beds where medical professionals treat patients for free. Currently, over 40% of physicians are from Kashmir. It also attracts students from Haryana’s Mewat region (Nuh) and Bihar. The university charges around Rs 16 lakh annually for MBBS courses.

SCANNER RECRUITMENT PROCEDURE

However, the chancellor and his associates are in charge of recruitment at the university’s headquarters in Jamia Nagar, Okhla, Delhi. Here, only administrative and documentation tasks are completed.

With six of the university’s employees under the terror scanner, its recruitment and verification policies have appeared questionable.

Of particular interest is the recruitment of Dr Umar Nabi, who was behind the wheel when the car exploded near the Red Fort. Dr Umar, who previously worked at the Government Medical College in Anantnag, was sacked following the death of a patient due to his negligence.

Patients, staff, and other medical professionals all voiced complaints about Dr. Umar’s impolite demeanor and lack of focus. He would frequently spend days away from the hospital. In 2023, Dr. Umar joined Al-Falah after being expelled.

Following the Red Fort explosion, another Kashmiri physician, Nisar-ul-Hassan, a professor in the medical department at Al-Falah University, also vanished. The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor fired Dr. Nissar from the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital in Srinagar in 2023 due to his anti-national actions.

UNIVERSITY BREAKS SILENCE

It remains a mystery if the Al-Falah authorities did a background verification of Dr Umar’s past conduct. He has proved to be a bad hire who has now affected the image of Al-Falah University.

The university broke its silence on Wednesday, two days after the blast, rejecting allegations of any institutional complicity. Only two of the university’s physicians were held, according to an official statement.

“The university has no connection with the said persons apart from their official duties,” the statement said. It further said that no unauthorised materials or chemicals were ever used or stored in the university’s laboratories.

Al-Falah University has been severely impacted by the Red Fort explosion, which has rocked Delhi and the entire country. Investigators speculate that the university would have been selected as a base for the terror module due to its close proximity to Delhi—just 30 kilometers away.