As the probe into the Delhi blast and the ‘white collar’ terror module case has intensified, a university situated in a small village in Faridabad district of Haryana has been in the spotlight.
Al Falah University in Dhauj village of Faridabad, spread across over 70 acres amid vast agricultural land, has been at the centre of the ongoing probe after around 3,000 kg of explosives were recovered from the rented accommodations of a faculty member.
Another link emerged hours later, when a car exploded near the Red Fort in New Delhi on Monday, and the person suspected to be behind the wheel was another doctor who taught at the medical college, run by the university.
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While the explosives were recovered from the residence of Dr Muzammil Ganaie, a teacher of Al Falah Medical College, Dr Umar Un Nabi, a doctor from Pulwama and who taught at Al Falah, was believed to be the one behind the wheels of the car that exploded near Red Fort.
The authorities have also arrested Dr Shaheen Sayeed, suspected to be part of the newly formed Jamaat-ul-Mominaat, an organisation recently launched by Jaish-e-Mohammed.
As the authorities established a link between the Delhi car blast and the Faridabad terror module case, Al Falah University has emerged at the centre of the probe, with at least three suspects linked to the cases happening to be a part of the institution.
76-acre campus in quiet Faridabad village
Al-Falah University is spread over 76 acres in the Muslim-dominated Dhauj village in the Faridabad district. The university was established by the Haryana Legislative Assembly under the Haryana Private Universities Act, according to its website.
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In its early years, it portrayed itself as an alternative to Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia for minority students. It is located over 30 kilometres from Delhi and is managed by the Al-Falah Charitable Trust, which was established in 1995.
The university started as an engineering college in 1997 and got a university status in 2014 by the Haryana government.
According to a report in India Today, the university’s medical college, which started in 2019, operates a small hospital with around 700 beds.
The medical college has almost half of the doctors from Jammu and Kashmir and caters to students from Haryana’s Mewat and Bihar, the report added.
The probe into Al Falah Medical College has intensified following the terror module case. The Room no 13 in the college’s building has become centre to the probe as Dr Muzammil Ganaie used the room to allegedly plot logistics and transport routes for ammonium nitrate intended for multiple blasts.
Flawed accreditation rules
Al Falah University is also under the scanner for claiming on its website that its engineering and education schools have the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)’s approval. However, the accreditation has long expired.
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An official told HT that the university was never accredited, adding that its erstwhile engineering college received an ‘A’ grade in 2013 and the teacher education school in 2011. The two accreditations were valid only for five years.
The Al-Falah Medical College, which is at the centre of the probe, was launched in 2019 after it received approval from the National Medical Commission (NMC). The medical body has so far not yet decided on the action after the details emerged of the terror module planning.
Preacher linked to university under scanner
Maulvi Ishtiyaq, a cleric at the mosque where the university’s teacher and students gathered, has also been detained and brought to Srinagar.
Resident of Mewat, Ishtiyaq would conduct religious sermons in the Al Falah campus, which is at the centrepoint of the ‘white collar’ terror module. Officials have said that it was from his rented home that police recovered around 2,563 kg of ammonium nitrate.
Al Falah responds
Al Falah University vice chancellor Bhupinder Kaur has said that the institution has no connection to the doctors arrested in connection with the terror module busted in Faridabad and the Delhi blast “apart from them working in their official capacity”.
Kaur referred to ammonium nitrate recovered from the accused and said that no such chemicals are stored on the campus. The vice chancellor said the university was extending support to the security agencies in the probe.
“We are anguished by the unfortunate developments that took place and condemn the same… We have also learnt that two of our doctors have been detained by the Investigating Agencies. The University has no connection with the said persons apart from them working in their official capacities with the University,” the VC said in a statement.
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