Red Fort Blast: ED raid in Al Falah University; search in 25 centers

NEW DELHI: A raid is being conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Al Falah University and its affiliated institutions in connection with the Delhi blast case. The raids are being conducted at 25 locations in Delhi and Faridabad. The raids began at 5 am Tuesday morning. Searches are being conducted at the university's headquarters in Delhi and other institutions of the trustees.

The ED is also investigating financial irregularities in the university. As part of this, new cases have been registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED is questioning the university chairman Javed Ahmed Siddiqui in this regard. Siddiqui, who had been absconding for the past few days, was arrested by ED officials from his home following a secret information.

Siddiqui, who was the director of Al Falah Investment Company in 1992, later started a trust under the name Al Falah. He later expanded his business to education, software, financial services and energy sectors. In 2000, the Delhi Police registered a case of cheating against him for deceiving people in the name of halal investment.

The Delhi Police had recently registered two cases against Al Falah University, whose membership was revoked by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) after its links with Jaish-e-Mohammed came to light. One is related to cheating.

The second case is related to forgery. The action was based on a complaint filed by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The suicide bomber in the Delhi blast case, Dr Umar Nabi, and others involved in the terror module in Faridabad linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed worked at Al Falah University.