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Explosives specialist, Al-Falah links: Delhi blast case puts focus on Indian Mujahideen fugitive Baig
The official said Baig carries a ₹1 lakh reward and was wanted in multiple high-casualty attacks including the 2008 Jaipur serial blasts.
The Delhi blast case of November 10 has brought the focus back on Mirza Shadab Baig, a fugitive terrorist with links to Haryana’s Al-Falah Educational Institutions who has been on the run since 2008. In addition, the investigation into the recently unearthed Jaish-e-Mohammed “white collar module” has revived memories of the Azamgarh module of Indian Mujahideen (IM) that came to light after the 2008 Batla House encounter.
Baig, a key Indian Mujahideen recruiter from Azamgarh, studied at Al-Falah School of Engineering and Technology. He completed his BTech in electronics and instrumentation from the institution in 2007 before disappearing on his genuine passport, a senior ATS official confirmed.
Haryana’s Al-Falah Educational Institutions in Faridabad allegedly ties both the modules together. Al-Falah is now under intense scrutiny after multiple operatives linked to the November 10 Delhi blast were found to have worked or studied at the institution’s medical college. The pattern points to a years-long link between UP-based operatives and the Al-Falah ecosystem, suggesting a possible recruitment or “radicalisation pipeline” stretching nearly two decades.
Baig has been missing since the Batla House encounter on September 19, 2008, a senior ATS official said.
The official said Baig carries a ₹1 lakh reward and was wanted in multiple high-casualty attacks: the 2008 Jaipur serial blasts, the Ahmedabad-Surat bombings, and the 2007 Gorakhpur explosions.
“According to intelligence reports, Baig acted as an explosives specialist, sourcing detonators and ball bearings from Udupi (Karnataka) for the Jaipur attack and assisting IM founders Riyaz and Yasin Bhatkal. In the Gujarat blasts, he led reconnaissance, prepared explosives and trained recruits. UP Police earlier attached his properties after his name surfaced in the 2007 Gorakhpur serial blasts. Baig was reportedly last traced to Afghanistan in 2019,” the official emphasised.
He said the 2025 Delhi blast has re-opened the Al-Falah trail as the alleged suicide bomber, Dr Umar Nabi, was a faculty at the university.
The Al-Falah School of Engineering and Technology was set up in 1996 and operated by a charitable trust formed in 1995 while a group of Al Falah institutes combined to form Al Falah University in 2014.
“Besides, the arrested suspect Dr Muzammil Shakeel, an alumnus who allegedly travelled to Afghanistan for terror training, has brought the institution under nationwide scrutiny. Another suspect, Dr Shaheen Saeed, arrested in the Delhi blast case was also part of the medical faculty,” he explained.
Officials say early signs indicate that Baig’s old ideological networks or “radicalisation pipelines” may have influenced newer recruits, including those involved in the Delhi attack. “The links between the 2007-08 blasts and the current module cannot be ruled out,” said a senior UP-based officer.
Following the blast, police registered two FIRs against Al-Falah University for allegedly falsifying accreditation claims. The Enforcement Directorate has questioned over 70 individuals and arrested Al-Falah Group chairman Jawwad Ahmed Siddiqui under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The university is accused of falsely claiming NAAC accreditation and UGC 12(B) status — claims refuted by UGC, which clarified that Al-Falah is registered only under Section 2(f).
With strong UP roots emerging once again — from Azamgarh to Gorakhpur and fresh leads from Lucknow — agencies are probing whether the university was systematically exploited by terror operatives. The alleged trail now spans Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka and Afghanistan, and officials say deeper linkages could surface as the probe widens.
THEN AND NOW
May 13, 2008:The Jaipur bombings were a series of nine synchronised bomb blasts within a span of 15 minutes at different locations in the Rajasthan capital. Official reports confirmed that 63 died while 216 or more people were injured. The engineering pass out from Al Falah School of Engineering and Technology, Mirza Shadab Baig, was accused of procuring explosives and aiding IM modules
Nov 10, 2025: In the Delhi blast, Al-Falah faculty and alumni were arrested for carrying out an explosion in a moving car that led to deaths of 15 people and several others injured. The blast may have been a possible suicide attack by Dr Umar Nabi, who worked at Al-Falah University in Faridabad. It had alleged links to individuals arrested during the earlier police raids conducted which led to the capture of more than 2,900 kg of explosives.
