New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday provisionally attached assets valued at approximately Rs 140 crore belonging to Haryana-based Al Falah University, an institution under intense scrutiny following the Nov. 10 suicide bombing at the Red Fort.

The federal agency also filed a formal charge sheet against Al Falah Group chairman Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui and the Al Falah Trust, seeking their prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The seizure encompasses the university's 54-acre campus in the Dhauj area of Faridabad, including all academic buildings, departmental facilities, and student hostels. The ED has categorised these properties as "proceeds of crime," suspecting that illicit funds were funnelled into the varsity’s infrastructure.

Financial Fraud and Terror Links

Siddiqui was originally arrested in November on charges of defrauding students and parents. The ED alleges that under his direction, the university generated at least Rs 415.10 crore by "dishonestly" collecting fees through false claims of valid accreditation and UGC recognition.

The university’s profile shifted significantly after security agencies uncovered a "white-collar" terror module operating within its ranks. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested more than 10 individuals, including three doctors, in connection with the cell.

One of the varsity’s medical faculty members, Dr Umar-un-Nabi, was identified as the suicide bomber who detonated an explosive-laden vehicle outside the Red Fort on Nov. 10, an attack that claimed 15 lives.

Academic Safeguards

To ensure the education of current students is not jeopardised, officials noted that a government-appointed receiver may take over the administration of the campus once the provisional attachment is finalised. This arrangement would allow academic operations to continue even as criminal prosecution against Siddiqui and the trust proceeds in a special PMLA court.

The ED’s action follows its initial reports of the planned attachment earlier this week and marks a major escalation in the investigation into the intersection of educational fraud and domestic terror networks.

With inputs from PTI