The Delhi Police on Saturday registered two separate first information reports (FIRs) against the Al-Falah University in Haryana's Faridabad, days after a deadly blast near the Red Fort Metro Station in the national capital that claimed 13 lives and injured dozens. While the first FIR is over cheating, the second pertains to alleged false accreditation claims made by the university.
"The Delhi Crime Branch has filed two separate FIRs against Al-Falah University, one for cheating and the second under sections of forgery," the Delhi Police said in a statement. "Today, a team from the Delhi Crime Branch visited the Al Falah University office in Okhla. The Delhi Police has issued a notice to the university and requested certain documents from them."
The development comes after the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) initiated action against the university over serious irregularities. The NAAC has also issued a show-cause notice to the university for displaying false accreditation on its website.
In the show-cause notice, the NAAC said it has noted that the Al-Falah University, "which is neither accredited nor applied for accreditation by NAAC", has publicly displayed on its website that "Al-Falah University is an endeavour of Al-Falah Charitable Trust, which has been running three colleges on the campus, namely Al Falah School of Engineering and Technology (since 1997, Graded A by NAAC), Brown Hill College of Engineering and Technology (since 2008), and Al-Falah School of Education and Training (since 2006, Graded A by NAAC)."
"This is absolutely wrong and misleading the public, especially the parents, students and stakeholders," it said.
The Al-Falah University, which was established by the Haryana Legislative Assembly under the Haryana Private Universities Act, has come under scanner after the arrest of three doctors in connection with the Delhi blast and the "white-collar terror module". Officials are scrutinising how the university turned into a safe haven for such individuals.
The university, which is managed by the Al-Falah Charitable Trust, was an engineering college initially. In 2013, it received 'A' category accreditation from the NAAC. A year later, it was granted the university status by the Haryana government.
