Faridabad/New Delhi, Nov 18: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, chairman of the Al Falah group, following day-long raids across Delhi-NCR in connection with the Red Fort car blast case. Siddiqui has been taken into custody under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is being produced before a competent court for remand, officials said.
Multiple teams of the federal agency conducted searches at around 25 premises linked to the Al Falah Trust and Faridabad-based Al Falah University. The operation also included an office in Delhi’s Okhla area, where police and paramilitary personnel provided a security cordon. “Key personnel overseeing finance and administration of the Trust and the university have been covered in the raids,” an ED official stated.
The searches, which began at approximately 5:15 a.m., led to the seizure of Rs 48 lakh in cash. “The role of Al Falah Trust and related entities is under investigation,” the official added, noting that the probe involves financial irregularities, shell companies, accommodation entities, and suspected money laundering.
Fifteen people were killed in the November 10 car blast near the Red Fort in Delhi. The role of several doctors linked to the university and Kashmir is also under scrutiny by anti-terror agencies. The ED is acting on first information reports filed by the NIA and Delhi Police. So far, the NIA has arrested two individuals said to be close aides of the alleged suicide bomber, Dr. Umar Nabi.
At least nine shell companies linked to the Al Falah group, all registered at a single address, are being examined by the ED. The university, located in the Dhouj area of Faridabad district in Haryana, functions as a medical college and hospital.
