NEW DELHI, Nov. 20 — More than 200 doctors and staff at Al Falah University are under investigation following the November 10 car blast near the Red Fort, officials said, as authorities work to identify individuals who may have had links to the attacker.
Security agencies have intensified checks at the university, prompting concern among students and staff. On Wednesday, several employees were seen leaving the campus with packed belongings. University sources said many were taking leave to return home.
Investigators are trying to determine how many people left the university after the blast and are attempting to trace their movements. “Some of these individuals are suspected of having links to the terrorists,” a source said, adding that deleted mobile data is also being examined.
Police have expanded searches to hostels and rooms of students living outside the university campus, questioning more than 1,000 people so far. A 35-year-old woman who rented a room in Hidayat Colony, Nuh, to suicide bomber Dr. Umar Un Nabi was detained after having been absconding since the Delhi attack. Her family is also under scrutiny, and authorities questioned seven others in Nuh to probe Umar’s network.
Ever since the university’s alleged links to terrorism emerged, patient visits to its hospital have declined sharply. “Previously, around 200 patients came to our outpatient department daily. Now the number has dropped to less than 100,” hospital sources said.
Investigators are also probing whether Umar had a handler inside the university. Doctors doing apprenticeships at the hospital noted that Umar was absent for nearly six months in 2023 without formal leave but resumed duty without any questions. “He used to take very few classes, usually only one or two short lectures a week, and was always assigned evening or night shifts,” one doctor said.
Several investigation teams are active on campus, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Delhi Police Special Cell, Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), Faridabad Crime Branch, and Jammu and Kashmir Police. On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also began operations at the university, with a temporary command center now set up inside the campus.
