Doctors Behind Delhi Blast Worked At Al-Falah Without Mandatory Clearance

The four doctors at the core of the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror module behind the Delhi blast near the iconic Red Fort were employed at Faridabad-based Al-Falah University without obtaining the mandatory inter-state medical clearance.

NDTV has learnt that the doctors - Umar Un Nabi, Muzzamil Shakeel, Shaheen Shaheed, and Muzzafar Ahmed - joined the university's medical and teaching departments despite lacking the No Objection Certificate (NOC) required when a doctor shifts from one state to another.

Under National Medical Commission (NMC) rules, any doctor shifting from one state to another must obtain an NOC from their previous medical council and register afresh in the new state - a step that appears to have been bypassed by all but one accused.

Adil Ahmed Rather is the only doctor connected to the terror module who is believed to have applied for his NOC and received approval from the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Council, but the others did not.

Recruitment Under Scanner

The discovery raises questions over how the four doctors were hired and whether the university's verification processes were sufficiently robust.

The NMC has already cancelled the registrations of the arrested doctors and said it is working on stricter guidelines to prevent similar lapses.

About The Four Doctors?

Hailing from Pulwama, 35-year-old Dr Umar Un Nabi was the suicide bomber behind the wheel of the white Hyundai i20 car that exploded near the Red Fort on November 10. After graduating from Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, in 2017, he worked in hospitals in Srinagar and Anantnag and later joined Al-Falah as an assistant professor. Sources told NDTV that Umar was also dismissed from GMC Anantnag following a case of patient negligence.

Muzzamil Shakeel, on the other hand, taught physiology at Al-Falah and lived on the university campus. Investigators said 2,900 kg of explosives and materials used for making IEDs were recovered from premises linked to him.

Shaheen Shaheed, who had previously been registered as a medical practitioner in Lucknow and Kanpur, joined the university in 2021 as part of its faculty. She was handed over the command of JeM's women's wing, Jamaat ul-Mominaat, which is headed by the terror group's founder Masood Azhar's sister in Pakistan.

Muzzafar Ahmed, an MBBS doctor from Qazigund in South Kashmir, also lacked clearance from the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Council before taking up his role in Haryana, sources said.

Al-Falah Faces Regulatory Heat

The terror-related arrests come at a time when Al-Falah University is already under scrutiny. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has issued a show-cause notice to the university after finding that its website carried misleading claims of 'A' grades for its engineering and education schools.

Separately, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked the university to explain its mention of a '12B status' - this allows institutions to receive central grants - despite the commission stating that no such approval had been given to the institution.

Two FIRs have also been registered by the Delhi Police against the university for alleged cheating and forgery following complaints from the NAAC and UGC. The Association of Indian Universities has already revoked Al-Falah's membership.

Broader Review of Medical Credentials

The investigation has prompted a wider examination of foreign-qualified doctors as well. Hospitals and nursing homes across Delhi have been instructed to submit details of medical staff holding degrees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, the UAE, and China. The Delhi Medical Council has also been asked to furnish records of all doctors registered since 2001.

As investigators piece together how a terror module operated from within a university campus, the case has opened a larger conversation on oversight, both in medical regulation and in higher-education recruitment.