Faridabad’s Al Falah University, located about 45 kilometers from the capital Delhi, is being seen as the ‘hub’ of the recent car bomb attack at the Red Fort. The investigation into the blast is also underway against four doctors from the university, who are believed to be linked to the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed. Although the university authorities have claimed that these doctors have no connection with them.
At least 13 people were killed when a slow-moving Hyundai i-20 car exploded near the Red Fort metro station on Monday. The driver of the car was identified as Dr. Umar Muhammad through DNA testing.
Earlier that day, the Jammu and Kashmir police had arrested a few people from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Among them were three doctors.
Based on information received from investigators and police sources, Indian media NDTV reported that the three doctors, Dr. Muzammil Shakeel, Adil and Shahid Saeed, Al Falah and Umar planned the attack at the university and their planning center was a room in the 70-acre Al Falah University.
Room 13 of building 17 of the university was Dr. Muzammil’s, where everyone used to meet. Police suspect that it was in this room that the blasts were planned in different parts of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
It is learnt that these four doctors had collected a fund of Rs 20 lakh to carry out terrorist attacks across Delhi. According to the NDTV report, a series of blasts were being planned in different places in the National Capital Region (NCR) or the capital Delhi on December 6, the day of the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992.
The entire amount from the fund was given to Dr. Umar for his protection. Later, about 26 quintals (2600 kg) of NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium) fertilizer was purchased for Rs 3 lakh from Gurugram, Nuh and other nearby markets. This fertilizer was supposed to be used to make IEDs (bombs).
According to police, the attackers first planned to smuggle chemicals from the university laboratory to make the bomb. The lab is just a few meters away from Muzammil’s room. Dr. Umar and Shaheen, both faculty members of the university, arranged the chemicals. They were then stored in rented premises in Dhauj and Taga villages of Faridabad.
Dr. Muzammil’s room has now been sealed. Several electronic devices and pen drives have been recovered from there. Apart from this, two diaries containing code words and encrypted messages have been found.
