Delhi blast: ED searches places linked to Al Falah University, trustees

New Delhi, Nov 18 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday was conducting searches at multiple places related to Al Falah University, its trustees, and associated individuals and entities in connection with the November 10 blast near the Red Fort.

The raids, which commenced around 5 a.m., include searches at the university’s head office located in Okhla, Delhi. The ED is currently examining financial and operational links that may be connected to the case.

Meanwhile, developments continue in the blast investigation, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arresting the second aide of the suicide bomber. Another key accused is expected to be produced in court later on Tuesday. Al Falah University founder Javed Farooqi has also been summoned for questioning by the Crime Branch office in Chanakyapuri in relation to the same case.

Continuing its probe into the car bomb explosion, a Delhi court on Monday sent Aamir Rashid Ali, a Kashmiri resident accused of conspiring with Dr Umar Muhammad Nabi, the alleged suicide bomber who carried out the November 10 terror attack, to 10 days of NIA custody. Ali’s arrest took place on November 16 during a massive search operation launched after the NIA assumed control of the case from the Delhi Police. Officials confirmed that the car used in the attack was registered in Ali’s name.

According to the NIA’s preliminary findings, Ali, a resident of Samboora in Pampore, Jammu and Kashmir, conspired with Umar Nabi to execute the attack. Investigators said that Ali travelled to Delhi to assist him in purchasing the vehicle and later converted it into a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) used in the blast.

Later on Monday, the agency arrested another key associate who allegedly provided technical support to the terrorists involved. Jasir Bilal Wani, also known as Danish and a resident of Kashmir, was apprehended by an NIA team in Srinagar as part of case RC-21/2025/NIA/DLI. According to officials, Wani allegedly assisted the module by modifying drones and attempting to develop rockets, offering technological expertise ahead of the deadly car bomb blast.

Further revelations have emerged about the “white-collar” terror module uncovered in Faridabad. According to a report by NDTV quoting investigative sources, the group relied heavily on Telegram and used an unusual lexicon of food-based code words to mask their communications.

The four doctors arrested -- whose medical licenses have since been revoked -- used names of everyday dishes as coded references to explosives and planned attacks. In their encrypted chats, “biryani” referred to explosive materials, while “daawat” signified an impending operation. Investigators said that when an IED was ready, the group alerted one another with the message: “Biryani is ready, get ready for daawat.”

The module allegedly consisted of Muzamil Shakeel, Dr Umar Muhammad Nabi, Dr Shaheen Saeed, and Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather. Their radicalisation is believed to have begun under Imam Irfan Ahmad from Shopian, identified by investigators as the mastermind. Ahmad reportedly first met Dr Umar at a Srinagar hospital in 2020 while seeking treatment for his child. This initial meeting led to ongoing contact, which eventually contributed to Dr Umar’s radicalisation.

Once convinced of Dr Umar’s loyalty, Ahmad instructed him to recruit others who showed “potential”. The group was later taken to meet Jaish-e-Muhammad operatives in south Kashmir, where they received two AK-series assault rifles -- both of which have since been recovered, one from Dr Shaheen Saeed’s vehicle.

Saeed has told investigators she met the others about six months before the Red Fort blast and claims she was unaware of the group’s true motives.

Their names have now been struck off both the Indian Medical Register and the National Medical Register, effectively barring them from practising medicine in India.

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