The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, chairman of the Al Falah Group, following coordinated searches in the Delhi-NCR region targeting trustees and promoters of Faridabad-based Al Falah University. The university is at the centre of the ongoing probe into the Red Fort area car blast case, officials said.
Siddiqui has been taken into custody under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and will be produced before a competent court for remand. During the searches, the ED also seized Rs 48 lakh in cash, with operations beginning around 5:15 am, sources added.
Multiple teams of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided at least 25 premises linked to the Al Falah Trust and its university establishment, including an office in Delhi’s Okhla area, with police and paramilitary forces providing security cordons.
The action is part of an ongoing investigation into financial irregularities, use of shell companies, accommodation entities, and alleged money laundering by the Trust and its related entities. Officials said key personnel overseeing finance and administration were also targeted during the raids.
The probe follows the November 10 car blast near the Red Fort in Delhi, which killed 15 people. Anti-terror agencies are examining the role of several doctors connected to the university and in Kashmir.
The ED is also examining at least nine shell companies linked to the group, all registered at a single address. The university, located in Dhouj, Faridabad, functions as a medical college-cum-hospital. The agency has taken cognisance of FIRs filed by the NIA and Delhi Police, with two alleged close aides of “suicide bomber” Dr. Umar Nabi already arrested by the NIA. (Agencies)
