As Al-Falah faces scrutiny, spotlight turns to Madhya Pradesh’s once-influential Siddiqui family

The family came in the spotlight in the aftermath of the November 10 blast near Red Fort in Delhi

Known locally as “Maulana’s building”, the structure in Kayastha Mohalla in Madhya Pradesh’s Mhow is the ancestral home of the Siddiquis -- once influential figures in the cantonment town near Indore.

The head of the family, Mohammad Hammad Siddiqui, previously held the esteemed position of Qazi in Mhow, according to a report by The Indian Express. In recent times, however, the family has garnered increased attention from investigative agencies over its association with Al-Falah University.

Javed Ahmed Siddiqui, the founder and chairman of Al-Falah University and son of Hammad Siddiqui, has been called in for questioning by the Delhi Police Crime Branch following allegations of fraud and discrepancies highlighted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

Javed’s brother, Hamood Ahmed Siddiqui, was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police from Hyderabad in connection with a financial fraud in Mhow.

"Hamood vanished from Mhow in 2000 after allegedly establishing a bogus private bank and luring hundreds of residents with promises of doubling their deposits. He had fled with his family soon after the scam surfaced, leaving authorities searching for him for decades. He was arrested in Hyderabad yesterday," Mhow sub divisional officer of police Lalit Singh Sikarwar told PTI.

The family came in the spotlight in the aftermath of the November 10 blast near Red Fort in Delhi, that reportedly claimed 15 lives and injured several people.

Umar Nabi -- suspected to be the driver of the car that exploded outside the Red Fort -- and another doctor, Muzammil Ganai, allegedly part of a terror module connected to the blast, were both employed by the Al-Falah Medical Research Foundation.

According to police sources cited by The Indian Express, the family launched an investment firm in the early 1990s, but it collapsed after a stock market crash.

“The brothers came from a well-respected family. They began an investment company in the early 1990s, and their first clients were local Army officers, military engineers and local shopkeepers. They all invested their money because they respected their father, the city Qazi,” a senior officer of the Madhya Pradesh Police told the publication.

According to the officer, the stock market crash caused investors to panic and seek immediate refunds, a pressure that eventually brought the company down.

“Javed and Hamood reportedly fought with each other over mishandling the company. Their firm had promised high returns to investors,” a police source told The Indian Express.

Amid increasing pressure, they left Mhow in 2000s, allegedly with Rs 3 lakh yet to be paid to investors.

It was after leaving Mhow that Javed founded the Al-Falah Charitable Trust, which went on to establish the Al-Falah University in Haryana’s Faridabad.

Several suspects linked to the blast are believed to have had associations with the university, prompting investigators to examine institutional records, financial transactions and administrative approvals.