For years, Al Falah University in Faridabad functioned like any other private institution, its sprawling campus tucked away from the noise of national headlines. But each time investigators peeled back layers of major terror cases, the trail unexpectedly circled back to the same place. The latest shock surfaced after the November 10 blast near Delhi’s Red Fort, in which a white Hyundai i20 exploded.
Umar Mohammad, also known as Umar Nabi, who has been identified as the driver of the car, is also found to have studied at this very university in Faridabad. The blast killed 13 people and injured many more, sending ripples of panic through the capital. But what seemed like a disturbing one-off link soon grew into a more unsettling pattern.
Days after the deadly 10/11 blast, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday (November 17, 2025) searched 25 locations in Delhi and Faridabad linked to the terror-tainted Al Falah University and individuals associated with it. With this, the probe agency also arrested Al Falah University founder and chairman Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui.
Was Umar Nabi really the first or just most recent terror operative from Al Falah?
As investigators dug deeper, a startling truth was discovered. Sources told NDTV that Delhi blast suicide bomber Umar was not the first terror operative to emerge from the institution. Years earlier, another young man walked through the same corridors, attended the same classes, and quietly slipped into the dark world of terrorism.
His name was Mirza Shadab Baig, and by the time he graduated in 2007 with a B.Tech in Electronics and Instrumentation, he was already a key figure in the Indian Mujahideen (IM). Hailing from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, Baig was allegedly learning more than textbook theories, by using his expertise in control systems and automation to understand the mechanics of explosives.
And soon enough, he would put that knowledge to use. Investigators later pieced together a chilling timeline. In 2007, the same year he completed his degree, Baig was linked to the Gorakhpur blasts. Three bombs placed in lunch boxes and strapped to bicycles tore through a crowded market, injuring six and plunging the city into fear.
How deep was Baig’s involvement in past serial blasts?
The 2007 blasts were only the beginning. By 2008, Baig was reportedly travelling to Udupi in Karnataka, picking up consignments of explosives and supplying detonators and bearings to IM co-founders Riyaz and Yasin Bhatkal. His engineering background made him a natural fit for assembling sophisticated bombs.
For the Ahmedabad blasts, he conducted a full reconnaissance mission two weeks before the attack. He moved silently, arranging logistics, preparing bombs, and even training other operatives. He functioned not merely as a participant but as a technical backbone of the terror campaign. Before Ahmedabad, nine explosions in Jaipur killed over 60 people.
Each blast stitched together a clearer picture of Baig’s involvement. By the time authorities seized his property, he had vanished. His trail was last traced to Afghanistan in 2019, and he now carries a reward of Rs 1 lakh.
Why is Al Falah university under the scanner now?
The discovery of Baig’s past association resurfaced after the Red Fort blast case. Soon, the Crime Branch lodged two FIRs against the university — this time not just for past students but for institutional violations. UGC and NAAC audits had flagged serious irregularities, prompting charges of cheating and forgery.
The November 10, 2025, a loud explosion rocked the area around Red Fort in Delhi. The white i20 detonated inside a parking lot near Red Fort with such force that vehicles several feet away were mangled. Panic erupted instantly as bystanders rushed to pull out the injured.
The timing was particularly ominous as hours earlier, eight individuals, including three doctors, had been arrested, and nearly 2,900 kg of explosives recovered. The bust had exposed a sprawling “white collar” terror module running across Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.
Investigators continue to piece together the threads of these networks, however, Al Falah University now finds itself at the centre of a story far larger, darker, and more complex.