Delhi Blast: Why Haryana’s Al-Falah University under probe over alleged terror module link?

Faridabad: Al-Falah University and its 76-acre campus in Dhauj village — a Muslim-majority area in Haryana’s Faridabad district — have come under the scanner after the arrest of three doctors linked to a “white-collar terror module” and the recent car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort.

Investigators are probing how educated individuals associated with the university allegedly acted on instructions from Pakistan-based handlers, reported PTI. The Delhi Police and intelligence agencies spent Tuesday inspecting the campus and questioning several people connected to the institution.

The probe intensified after Monday evening’s high-intensity explosion near the Red Fort metro station that killed 12 people and injured several others. Pulwama-based doctor Mohammad Umar Nabi, suspected to have been driving the explosive-laden Hyundai i20, was an assistant professor at Al-Falah University.

The blast occurred just hours after eight people, including three doctors linked to Al-Falah, were arrested and 2,900 kilograms of explosives were seized in a multi-state operation uncovering a “white-collar terror module” with connections to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH).

Among those arrested was Dr Muzammil Ganaie, also a faculty member at Al-Falah University.

According to the university’s website, Al-Falah University was established under the Haryana Private Universities Act by the state legislature. It began as an engineering college in 1997 and received ‘A’ category accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2013. The Haryana government conferred university status on it the following year. The institution also runs a medical college affiliated with the university.

In its formative years, the university was seen as an alternative to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), offering higher education opportunities for minority students. Located about 30 km from Delhi’s Jamia campus, it is managed by the Al-Falah Charitable Trust, founded in 1995.

The trust is chaired by Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, with Mufti Abdullah Qasimi MA, as vice-chairman and Mohammad Wajid DME as secretary. The current Vice-Chancellor is Dr Bhupinder Kaur Anand, and Prof (Dr) Mohammad Parvez serves as the Registrar.

The university comprises three colleges — Al-Falah School of Engineering and Technology, Brown Hill College of Engineering and Technology, and Al-Falah School of Education and Training. It also operates a 650-bed hospital, where patients are treated free of cost.