48 Al Falah University staff, including 30 doctors questioned in Red Fort blast probe

Faridabad: A total of 46 staff, including 30 doctors from Al-Falah University, have been interrogated so far in connection with Delhi's deadly Red Fort car blast incident on November 10.

The Indian Express reported that officials familiar with the NIA probe informed the Daily about the total number of staff detained so far. On Wednesday, the National Investigation Agency arrested a ward boy employed at Al Falah University for allegedly providing logistical support to the accused doctor suicide bomber before the attack.

Apart from Al Falah University, the investigators have also widened their investigation to other private hospitals across Delhi to identify more doctors who were associated with the accused doctors from the terror module.

Also read- Delhi blast probe uncovers 2 more hideouts used by Al-Falah University doctor

The Jammu and Kashmir Police recently found the main accused doctor's phone in a drain in Pulwama. The device has provided investigators with information about individuals at the university with whom he was in touch.

“Based on the records, agencies have summoned some staffers at the university to understand the nature of their interactions with him and to get a clearer picture of his conduct and behaviour,” an official told The Indian Express.

Investigators are also reviewing CCTV footage procured from the campus, Indian Express sources said, adding that the questioning of staff is expected to continue for the coming weeks.

Doctors express dismay over inspection of lockers

Doctors across Kashmir have expressed deep dismay over the sweeping police raids, calling them humiliating, unnecessary, and damaging to the profession’s dignity.

This comes after investigators say that every locker of a doctor will be searched thoroughly for any connection with the blast case. Weeks ago, a rifle was seized from a locker at Government Medical College (GMC), Anantnag, which was allotted to one of the accused doctors in the blast.

Officers said, "The searches will continue till every locker is accounted for, and surprise checks may continue in the future."

Noting that hospital administrations are “fully cooperating with them”, with medical superintendents accompanying the search parties, a police officer said, “We have checked most of the hospitals in the Valley and are likely to finish the process in a few days… But we could carry out surprise inspections to keep a check.”

A senior officer posted in Srinagar said, “Doctors are the cream of society. By humiliating them, we are sending a wrong message, not just to the doctor community but also to the general public. We are breeding animosity with them, and that could be counterproductive. Also, by painting the entire community as suspects, we risk damaging the career of hundreds of doctors posted outside Kashmir.”

Medical Superintendent of District Hospital, Pulwama, Dr Abdul Gani Dar, told the media on Monday that " We ourselves called police and asked them to check the lockers that had not been opened for a while. There were instructions from the higher authorities, and we abided by them. There were some unidentified and unlabelled lockers. We broke their seal, and nothing adverse was found. We mostly found aprons and medicines."

A senior Health Department official said, "Doctors and staff at a hospital are allotted lockers or small cabinets known as pigeon-holes for keeping such stuff, and belongings like books, stethoscopes and other medical apparatus."

A senior doctor, posted in a top Srinagar hospital, told The Indian Express, “We understand the security concerns, but what exactly are they trying to signal with these dramatic and camera-ready raids that run non-stop on social media and television? What message does that send about all of us? Do they want to convey that all of us are militants?”

"If security agencies genuinely needed to inspect our lockers, they could have done it discreetly without turning it into a public spectacle and for every camera to capture,” a senior doctor at Srinagar said.

Expressing regret at “targeting of the entire fraternity”, J&K Health Minister Sakeena Itoo said she would direct the Secretary, Health, to sensitize agencies to follow a proper SOP.

Also read- Delhi Car Blast: 5 doctors accused of raising Rs 26 lakh, stockpiling explosives