Red Fort bomber Dr Umar Nabi seen praising suicide attacks in video recovered in probe

The video shows Dr Umar Nabi alone in a room speaking in English about suicide bombing — likening the terrorist act to “martyrdom”.

Investigators probing the Red Fort car explosion have recovered a video of Umar un-Nabi, who was behind the wheel of the white Hyundai i20, defending the concept of suicide attacks in what security experts say could signal attempts to radicalise others.

Screengrab of Umar un-Nabi from the recovered video. (HT)

The one-minute, 20-second video, believed to have been recorded in April, shows Nabi alone in a room speaking in English about suicide bombing — likening the terrorist act to “martyrdom”.

The video was retrieved from a mobile phone recovered from a water body near un-Nabi’s house in Koil, Pulwama, according to a Delhi Police officer aware of the matter. Nabi had last visited his family there in September-October, during which he gave the mobile phone to his brother, Zahoor Ilahi, with instructions to dispose of it if he “ever heard news” about him.

Zahoor, after being detained, told investigators about the phone, a second official said, adding that forensic experts were able to retrieve the video and other data from the damaged device.

No government agency has officially confirmed retrieving the video or shared details of its source. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

However, people aware of the matter, who asked not to be named, said the video is part of the investigation and arrested members of what is now being regarded as a “white collar” terror module will be questioned about why it was made.

The National Investigation Agency confirmed on Sunday that Nabi, a doctor from Faridabad’s Al Falah University, was a suicide bomber who colluded with others and used a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device to trigger the explosion on November 10 that killed at least 12 people.

Nabi’s identity was confirmed after DNA samples collected from the blast site matched those of his mother. His two brothers and mother were detained soon after his name emerged during the investigation into the white-collar terror module.

Forensic teams recovered the phone from a waterbody; officers say module of doctors may have tried to mimic 2019 Pulwama, with arrests and searches widening across states. (HT)

Most radical of the group

Investigators in Srinagar, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said among all the doctors part of the white-collar terror network, Nabi was the most radical and believed in suicide bombings.

At the time of the blast, police say Nabi was using at least two phones. Investigators are trying to establish how many phones or SIM cards were in his possession.

So far, three doctors — Dr Muzammil Ganaie, Dr Shaheen Shahid and Dr Adeel Rather — have been arrested in the case. Rather’s brother Dr Muzzaffar, who investigators suspect is part of the network, is believed to be in Afghanistan. They are also searching for Dr Nissar ul-Hassan, who worked at Al Flah along with Nabi, Ganaie and Shaheen, Police have questioned several other doctors.

The Delhi Police Special Cell, which is probing the larger conspiracy behind these doctors collecting explosives and buying vehicles, is investigating whether they were trying to replicate a Pulwama-like suicide bombing attack where a car loaded with explosives blew up next to a bus, killing 39 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.

Former Jammu and Kashmir police chief SP Vaid said such videos are used to radicalise and brainwash people in the valley. He said the Pulwama module of these doctors may have followed the modus operandi adopted by Adil Ahmed Dar, the suicide bomber in the 2019 Pulwama case, who had also made a similar video.

“These videos are used to brainwash vulnerable young people in a place like J&K. Pakistan takes advantage of their geolocation and tries to use these videos to brainwash people,” Vaid said. “The fact that educated people, such as doctors were ready to kill themselves is alarming. In many countries abroad, community leaders are roped in to speak to such people. It is time we involve community leaders and prevent vulnerable youths from being brainwashed.”

One officer aware of the probe details said that while the NIA investigation will focus on the contents and the story behind the video, it is also possible that the video was recorded to justify suicide bombing. “In Islam, taking someone or their own’s life is forbidden. Since Nabi is equating this to martyrdom, it is possible that Nabi recorded this to justify the act, and thus encourage others to do the same. Though it is just a theory.”

Retired IPS officer Ashok Chand, who was chief of the Delhi Police’s special cell between 1998 and 2005, said that though video messages are not unprecedented, reports of terrorists preparing for suicide bombings in metros warrant stern enforcement.

“In the past also, terrorists released videos after incidents of terror. The intelligence network, which includes not just the Intelligence Bureau or special branch but also the constable at the local police post, should be playing their A game,” Chand said.