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After Red Fort blast, 200 doctors, staff at Al Falah University under probe agencies' lens
Investigators are reportedly ascertaining the number of individuals who left Al Falah University after the blast and are trying to identify them.
Following the arrest of Al Falah University's chairman and founder, Jawad Ahmed Siddique, more than 200 doctors and staff of the Faridabad-based institution are reportedly under the scanner of the investigative agencies amid the ongoing probe into the November 10 blast near Delhi's Red Fort.
Frequent security checks at the university by probe agencies have raised concerns among its students and staff. Several university employees were seen leaving with their belongings packed on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported, citing sources. They are reportedly taking leave and returning to their homes.
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Investigators are ascertaining the number of individuals who left Al Falah University after the blast and are trying to identify them. The agencies suspect that a number of these individuals were linked to the terrorists responsible for the explosion, the PTI report stated.
Additionally, many people have also deleted their mobile data, which will also be probed by authorities, the report said, further citing sources.
So far, over 1,000 people have been questioned, and police are searching the hostels and rooms of students who are living off-campus.
Woman, who rented room to Dr Umar, detained
A 35-year-old woman, who rented a room to suicide bomber Dr Umar Un Nabi in Hidayat Colony in Haryana's Nuh, was detained by investigating agencies. The woman had been on the run since the Red Fort blast.
The woman's family is also under investigation following the incident. Seven other people in Nuh were also questioned to determine Umar's connection with them.
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The suicide bomber reportedly had used multiple mobile phones while staying at Nuh's rented room.
Dr Umar's link to Al Falah University
The Al Falah Medical College came to the fore of the storm after the November 10 blast near the Red Fort that killed at least 12 people. Ever since the probe, the number of patients at its hospital has also reportedly declined.
Before the blast and the subsequent investigation, around 200 patients used to visit the hospital's outpatient department every day, which now has dropped to less than 100, news agency PTI reported, citing hospital sources.
Security agencies are trying to determine whether there was a handler inside the university because Umar used to get "special treatment" in the institute.
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Dr Umar Un Nabi, who was employed at Al Falah Medical College, was reportedly absent from the hospital and university for nearly six months without leave or notification in 2023, two doctors pursuing an apprenticeship in the college after studying MBBS from the university said.
The PTI report further mentioned that the strange thing about Dr Umar's return was that he simply resumed duty without any action being taken against him.
They also said that Umar would take very few classes, adding that they would only take one or two lectures a week and even those would last for just 15 to 20 minutes. Dr Umar would then return to his room. The other lecturer did not like this as they would teach the classes to their complete length.
The doctors also revealed Dr Umar was always assigned the evening or night shifts at the hospital, and never the morning shifts.
Al Falah under probe lens
The Al Falah University has been under the lens of the investigative agencies since the blast near Red Fort, with authorities currently working at the institution.
In addition to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is leading the probe into the November 10 explosion, units from the Delhi Police Special Cell, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad, the Faridabad Crime Branch and the Jammu and Kashmir Police are constantly visiting the university.
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also visited the university on Tuesday, when it arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddique, chairman of the Al Falah group. The arrest came after authorities raided over 25 locations across Delhi and Faridabad linked to the group's university, trust and associated firms.
Siddique was arrested under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
A senior ED official said that Siddique, named managing trustee when the Al Falah Trust was set up in 1995 and a key figure in the group's expansion since the late 1990s, exercised "complete control" over the trust and its educational network.
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On Wednesday, a Delhi court sent Siddique to 13 days in ED's custody, noting the gravity of the offence of money laundering.
Meanwhile, central investigating agencies, including the NIA and CBI, along with Delhi Police, have sought information on doctors who obtained their medical degrees from outside India -- Pakistan, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and China, HT reported earlier.
The move is part of an intelligence-driven effort to identify potential associates or sympathisers of the 'doctor terror module's members.
All the investigating agencies have set up a temporary command centre inside the university.
