Al-Falah University and its 76-acre campus in the Muslim-dominated Dhauj village of Haryana’s Faridabad district have come under the scanner following the arrest of three doctors linked to a “white-collar terror module” and the high-intensity explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort.
Investigators are probing how educated individuals, allegedly acting on the instructions of Pakistan-backed handlers, found refuge within the institution.
According to its website, Al-Falah University was established by the Haryana Legislative Assembly under the Haryana Private Universities Act. It began as an engineering college in 1997 and received ‘A’ category accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2013. The following year, it was granted university status by the Haryana government. The Al-Falah Medical College also functions under the same university.
Experts note that in its early years, Al-Falah University was seen as a promising alternative to Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia for minority students. Located just 30 kilometres from Jamia Millia Islamia, the university is managed by the Al-Falah Charitable Trust, established in 1995.
The trust is chaired by Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui, with Mufti Abdullah Qasimi M.A. as vice-chairman and Mohammad Wajid DME as secretary. The current registrar is Prof (Dr) Mohammad Parvez, while Dr Bhupinder Kaur Anand serves as Vice-Chancellor.
The campus hosts three main 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 houses a 650-bed hospital providing free medical care to patients.
Police conducted extensive inspections at the university on Tuesday, questioning several individuals.
On Monday evening, a high-intensity blast tore through an explosive-laden car near Delhi’s Red Fort metro station, killing 12 people and injuring several others. The suspected driver, Dr Mohammad Umar Nabi, an assistant professor at Al-Falah University and a resident of Pulwama, was reportedly behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20.
The blast occurred just hours after eight people, including three doctors affiliated with the university, were arrested and 2,900 kilograms of explosives were recovered during a major operation that exposed a “white-collar terror module” with links to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, spanning Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
Among those arrested was Dr Muzammil Ganaie, a faculty member at Al-Falah University.
(Agencies)
