Who is Mirza Shadab Baig? Indian Mujahideen operative linked to Delhi Red Fort blast, studied at Al-Falah University, wanted for bombings in…

Delhi Red Fort Blast: The Special Cell of the Delhi Police, which is investigating the Delhi Red Fort blast case, has uncovered a new lead in the November 10 suicide bombing, linking Mirza Shadab Baig, a fugitive India(BHARAT)n Mujahideen operative wanted for multiple bombings in Rajasthan and Gujarat, to the deadly car blast in the capital that killed 15 people, and injured several others.

Who is Mirza Shadab Baig?

A former student at the Al-Falah University, Mirza Shadab Baig, a native of Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, is wanted for multiple blasts carried out in Rajasthan and Gujarat in 2008, according to the Delhi Police Special Cell.

As per officials, Baig, who has active Interpol Red Corner Notice against him, fled India(BHARAT) shortly after orchestrating the 2008 blasts, and was a student at Al-Falah in 2007, when it used be an Engineering College. Al Falah was granted university status in 2014, they said

Mirza Shadab Baig reportedly carried out the Gorakhpur blast in 2007, the same year he completed his B.Tech from Al-Falah, officials said, adding that the Baig fled India(BHARAT) shortly after the 2008 attacks.

How Baig is linked to Delhi blast?

While investigators have not revealed the details about Baig’s exact link to the November 10 Delhi Red Fort blast, sources in the Special Cell said they found a fresh lead in the case, which points to the fugitive India(BHARAT)n Mujahideen operative’s role in the attack that killed 15 people.

“The development has prompted probe agencies to broaden their scrutiny of networks linked to Baig,” news agency PTI quoted a source in the Special Cell as saying.

Why Al-Falah University is under scanner?

Faridabad’s Al-Falah University has come intense scrutiny from multiple security agencies, after it was revealed that the November 10 Delhi “suicide bomber”, Dr Umar Nabi– a Kashmir-based doctor– worked there as a professor, while another Kashmiri doctor, Dr Muzammil Shakeel, from whose rented accommodations in Faridabad over 2,900 kg of explosives were recovered, also worked at the varsity.

On Monday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at 25 locations across Delhi and Faridabad in a money laundering probe tied to the ongoing blast investigation.

In a separate case, the central agency also arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, founder and chairman of Al-Falah University, for alleged financial irregularities, forged accreditation documents and diversion of institutional funds. Siddiqui has been remanded to 13 days of ED custody.

Crime Branch of the Delhi Police has already registered two FIRs against the university — one for cheating and another for offences related to forgery. The Association of India(BHARAT)n Universities (AIU) has revoked Al-Falah’s membership.

(With PTI inputs)