Delhi Red Fort blast: Al-Falah University under scanner after unearthing of terror module

Al-Falah university and its 76-acre sprawling campus the Muslim-dominated Dhauj village in Haryana’s Faridabad district has come under the scanner following the arrest of three doctors in connection with the “white-collar terror module” and the high-intensity explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort.

With educated individuals found to be “acting at the behest of Pakistan-backed handlers”, investigators are scrutinising how the university turned into a safe haven for such individuals.

According to the university website, it was established by the Haryana Legislative Assembly under the Haryana Private Universities Act.

It started as an engineering college in 1997. In 2013, the Al-Falah Engineering College received ‘A’ category accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) of the University Grants Commission. In 2014, the Haryana government granted it university status. The Al-Falah Medical College is also affiliated with the university.

According to several experts, in its early years, the Al-Falah University offered itself as an excellent alternative to Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia for minority students.

The university, located only 30 kilometres from Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia, is managed by the Al-Falah Charitable Trust, which was established in 1995.

Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui is the chairman of the trust. Mufti Abdullah Qasimi M A is the vice-chairman and Mohammad Wajid DME is the secretary.

The current registrar of Al-Falah University is Prof (Dr) Mohammad Parvez. Dr Bhupinder Kaur Anand is its Vice-Chancellor.

The campus offers education in three colleges: Al-Falah School of Engineering and Technology, Brown Hill College of Engineering and Technology, and Al-Falah School of Education and Training. The university also has a small hospital with 650 beds, where doctors treat patients for free.

Police said they conducted inspections in the university throughout the day on Tuesday and questioned several people.

On Monday evening, a high-intensity blast ripped through an explosive-laden car near Delhi’s Red Fort metro station, killing 12 people and injuring several others. Pulwama-based doctor Mohammad Umar Nabi, who was suspected to have been behind the wheels of the Hyundai i20, was an assistant professor at Al-Falah University.

The blast came hours after eight people, including three doctors connected to the university, were arrested and 2,900 kilograms of explosives were seized with the uncovering of a “white-collar terror module” involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Dr Muzammil Ganaie, who was among the arrested, was a teacher at the Al-Falah University.