From Classroom to Crime Scene: The Al Falah University Scandal

Paromita Das

New Delhi, 19th  November: The probe into the November 10 Delhi blast has gradually peeled back the layers of shocking irregularities in Faridabad-based Al Falah University, slowly transforming what began as an investigation over alleged terror links into an expose of colossal financial and academic fraud. This scandal, a rare confluence of national security risk, student exploitation, and white-collar deception, has left authorities and the public grappling with the true scale of misconduct behind an institution many trusted with shaping young lives.

Shadow Over Scholarship: The Deceptive Rise of Al Falah

Al Falah University had entered the academic scene with promises of high aspiration, but its rise was tainted right from the word go. According to the Enforcement Directorate, the university and its charitable trust systematically forged accreditation credentials, manipulated financial records, and funneled student fees into private profits. For seven long years, the institution claimed full accreditation without legal standing, luring in students with fabricated documents and a convincing façade. The result: Rs 415 crore amassed by assuring thousands of families that the aspirations of their children were in safe hands.

Centralized Control—and Calculated Fraud

At the center of the scam is Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, the founder and chairman of Al Falah. The ED’s case paints him as more than an administrator; he was the controlling mind in every aspect of finances and operations. All bank accounts and income tax returns for the trust and affiliates flowed through one Permanent Account Number, signalling a level of centralized control not aligned with the prerogatives of transparent governance. Even the Chief Financial Officer, Mohammad Razi, was willing to admit accountability only to the chairman for any large financial decision. The ED’s investigation uncovered large and unexplained donations—Rs 30.89 crore in 2014-15, Rs 29.48 crore in 2015-16—followed by an extraordinary surge in “academic revenue” from Rs 24.21 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 80.01 crore in 2024-25. Much of this ill-gotten income, investigators said, was siphoned off into a network of shell companies and personal assets connected to Siddiqui’s family.

The Terror Nexus: How Education Was Weaponised

Fraud at Al Falah University would have been scandalous enough if it had involved only students and money, but the case turned grave with chilling evidence of collusion in terror activities. The university’s disturbing connections to the suspects in the Red Fort blast-the suicide bomber, Dr Umar Mohammad, and associates who all worked at Al Falah-have upended assumptions about the boundaries of academic wrongdoing. Chemicals for the deadly device were smuggled out from university labs, a horrifying twist which has reframed the entire probe from academic recklessness into an outright threat to national security.

Ripple Effects: Trust Shattered, Futures Jeopardised

For the students caught in this web, the consequences are devastating: undermined educational prospects, degrees now shrouded in suspicion, and families left feeling betrayed on both fronts-emotional and financial. This incident has brought a deeper reckoning to oversight bodies like the University Grants Commission (UGC) and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), both implicated in the fraudulent claims made by the university. Al Falah University’s membership suspension by the Association of Indian Universities underlines a more general crisis in regulatory enforcement.

The Anatomy of White-Collar Terror

The present case represents a new peril for Bharat: the intersection of financial fraud, educational malpractice, and domestic terrorism. Private educational institutions have mushroomed across the country, occasionally escaping the strict scrutiny of regulatory bodies. Its repercussions on society are deep, particularly with regard to the issues of youth empowerment, public trust in academic institutions, and the security apparatus.

Reform Isn’t Optional—It’s Urgent

The scandal at Al Falah University is a wake-up call that mere patchwork fixes will not suffice; Bharat now needs a thorough regulatory overhaul for all private educational entities anchored by transparent compliance and zero tolerance for misrepresentation. Rapid expansion must not be allowed to outpace oversight. It’s time that accreditation, financial transparency, and governance are no longer viewed as bureaucratic hurdles but as essential guardrails in safeguarding students—and the nation.

Lessons Among the Rubbles

As the ED presses ahead with its investigation and Siddiqui sits in custody, the complete extent of Al Falah’s conspiracy has yet to unravel. The message, however, is loud and clear: unbridled ambition, if abetted by loopholes in the system, can undermine not only education but also collective safety. For every parent, student, and citizen, this case is a grim reminder of the need for vigilance, reform, and uncompromising ethics in Bharat’s academic landscape. Only then will trust be regained, and the dreams of future generations safeguarded from those peddling hope for profit and ideology.