Investigators probing the recent Delhi blast have uncovered that Al Falah University in Faridabad’s Dhauj, already under scrutiny in the Red Fort explosion and “white collar” terror module case, maintained longstanding connections with terror operatives.
Mirza Shadab Baig, a fugitive from the Indian Mujahideen wanted for multiple 2008 bombings, studied at the Faridabad university, PTI reported citing sources. Authorities have placed a ₹1 lakh bounty on him.
The Indian Mujahideen operative stands accused in the 2008 Jaipur serial blasts, the Ahmedabad-Surat bombings, and the 2007 Gorakhpur explosions. According to the report, Baig earned his B.Tech degree in electronics and instrumentation from the institution in 2007.
Following the attacks, Baig vanished after departing on his legitimate passport and has remained untraceable since September 19, 2008 nthe date of the Batla House encounter in Delhi.
Investigators believe Baig, originally from Raja Ka Qila Mohalla in Azamgarh, has been residing in Saudi Arabia. According to PTI, his last confirmed location was Afghanistan in 2019.
Also read: Al Falah University : Site Taken Down, Accreditation Notice, ED Heat
Al Falah University is under investigation after four faculty members and one preacher were discovered to have connections to the November 10 car explosion near Red Fort that claimed 10 lives.
Dr Umar-un-Nabi was behind the wheel of the explosives-filled i20 that detonated outside Red Fort, while Muzammil Ganaie, Adeel Rather, and Shaheena Saeed served as principal operatives in the ‘white collar’ terror conspiracy.
The recent bombing has drawn attention back to the absconding IM operative after investigators discovered new connections between him and the Delhi Red Fort blast case. Senior officials indicated that potential links between the two incidents, separated by nearly 20 years, cannot be dismissed.
MP authorities threaten to demolish Al Falah founder’s family home
The ancestral residence of Al Falah University founder Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, currently under investigation by authorities for money laundering, has received a demolition notice from Madhya Pradesh officials.
The Military Headquarters of War (MHOW) Cantonment Board in Indore issued the notice to Siddiqui’s ancestral property, directing his family to evacuate within three days before demolition commences.
Officials stated that the Mhow property, registered under Siddiqui’s father Hamad Ahmed Siddiqui’s name, was declared illegal approximately three decades ago.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui on Tuesday and remanded him to 13-day ED custody for allegedly generating ₹415 crore by misrepresenting the university’s accreditation and statutory status.