Classes resumed at Faridabad’s Al Falah Medical College on Thursday, with first-year MBBS students scheduled to attend theirs from 8am to 4pm, amid scrutiny the institution has faced since it emerged at the centre of the probe into the recovery of explosive material and the Delhi car blast.
Umar Un Nabi, a college faculty member, was behind the wheel of the car that exploded. On November 12, the Al Falah University maintained that the institution has no connection to the doctors arrested in connection with the blast “apart from them working in their official capacity”.
Parents from cities such as Chandigarh, Haldwani, Lucknow, Agra, and Delhi accompanied their children to campus on Thursday. Many said they felt compelled to see the situation first-hand before leaving their wards in the hostels.
“I did not want to send my son here, not after all the reports,” said Kumud Kanojia from Agra, who waited outside the campus until the first class ended. “But we cannot afford to lose a year. I just hope the college can keep our children safe and their future secure.”
Prabhat Aggarwal said he travelled overnight from Lucknow to drop off his nephew after hearing conflicting accounts about staff shortages. “We are extremely tense. We do not know what to believe. We heard teachers are missing from the college, but the administration told us that classes are running normally. We can only hope they are right.”
{{/usCountry}}Prabhat Aggarwal said he travelled overnight from Lucknow to drop off his nephew after hearing conflicting accounts about staff shortages. “We are extremely tense. We do not know what to believe. We heard teachers are missing from the college, but the administration told us that classes are running normally. We can only hope they are right.”
{{/usCountry}}Students, who requested anonymity, said they had been instructed not to speak to the media. Several confirmed that lectures began on time and were conducted “normally,” with all first-year departments scheduled to function through the day.
College officials declined to comment on the ongoing probe, and faculty members also refused to speak. The day’s schedule proceeded without disruption, offering a measure of reassurance to students and families navigating an uncertain start to the academic year.