ED expands probe into Al Falah Group, examines alleged forged land deals, assets for attachment

New Delhi: Widening its probe into the alleged financial irregularities at the Al Falah Group and Trust, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has detected that its arrested chairman could have acquired some land parcels in Delhi by "forging" documents.

The Al Falah University based in Haryana's Faridabad district is under the spotlight of investigations into the November 10 Red Fort area blast case in which a doctor working at its medical college allegedly blew himself up in a car full of chemical explosives. 15 persons were killed in the blast and a number of other were injured.

The federal probe agency, as per official sources, is investigating at least five instances where documents related to the General Power of Attorney (GPA) for acquiring land parcels are alleged to have been forged at the behest of a Trust linked to the arrested chairman of the Al Falah Group, Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui.

Siddiqui was arrested by the ED on November 18 following raids against the Al Falah Group and its linked entities in a money laundering case linked to cheating with students of their educational institutions who reportedly did not have valid accreditation.

The GPAs could have been in the name of certain dead persons and the investigation is ongoing, the sources said.

The ED has also initiated a process to identify and value the movable and immovable assets of the group spread across the country apart from funds that are alleged to have been "diverted" by it abroad. The agency may attach these properties under the anti-money laundering law.

The ED had accused Siddiqui of generating over Rs 415 crore "dishonestly" from students studying in the institutions run by his Trust.

It had claimed that the chairman had "incentives" to flee India as his close family members are settled in the Gulf.

The ED had also claimed in its remand petition for Siddiqui that he had "command" over the staff that handled admission registers, fee ledgers, accounts and IT systems of the Al Falah University and other institutions under the Trust and he could "destroy or alter records".

The entire Al Falah educational ecosystem is controlled by him (Siddiqui) and only a portion of the proceeds of crime worth Rs 415.10 crore has been identified so far..., the ED claimed.

The agency said the entire Al Falah group has seen a "meteoric rise" since the 1990s, metamorphosing into a large educational body.