‘ED’s contentions not taken into account’

New Delhi: The interim bail granted to Al-Falah University trustee and chairman Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui has come as a surprise to ED as none of its contentions was taken into account, particularly the fact that Siddiqui as the chancellor is facing charges of having recruited doctors who were terror suspects and involved in the Red Fort blast.Siddiqui, who is in judicial custody, had applied for interim bail on the grounds that his wife Usma Akhtar is undergoing terminal stage cancer treatment and he is the only caregiver for her. "Siddiqui's wife appeared before ED on summons unaccompanied by any care giver, indicating the condition was not that serious," sources said.
Akhtar has been undergoing cancer treatment since 2022. "The travel history of her children show that they rarely visited India and even when visiting India they stayed for a very short duration. If the ailment was such serious, all the children would have visited India and stayed with their mother," sources said. The children have not appeared before ED in response to its summons. Siddiqui has multiple other FIRs against him, including an offence of being named as the main accused in a UAPA case relating to the blast where explosive material was prepared in the campus of Al-Falah University. It has also been learnt that Siddiqui recruited the maulvi and the terrorist doctors in the university who were directly responsible for the blast.ED, which arrested Siddiqui on Nov 18 last year, had attached the university's 54-acre land and buildings, including a medical college, worth Rs 140 crore, in Faridabad and filed a chargesheet against Siddiqui and the university in a money laundering case. ED accused the trustee and the Al-Falah Trust of laundering over Rs 110 crore to family-controlled firms of Siddiqui. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Women's day wishes, messages and quotes !