India
A disturbing video recovered from a damaged mobile phone has given investigators deeper insight into the radicalisation journey of Umar un-Nabi, the suicide bomber behind the Red Fort car explosion. The one-minute, 20-second clip, believed to have been recorded in April, shows the 27-year-old doctor calmly speaking in English as he defends suicide attacks and equates them with “martyrdom”. Officials say the recording appears to be an attempt not just at self-justification but possibly at influencing or motivating others toward extremist violence.
The video was retrieved from a phone dumped in a water body near Nabi’s home in Koil, Pulwama. According to investigators, Nabi handed the device to his brother, Zahoor Ilahi, during a visit in September-October, instructing him to destroy it if “anything happened” to him. Once detained, Zahoor directed officials to the spot where the phone had been thrown, allowing forensic teams to extract the video and other data despite the extensive water damage.
Although no agency has officially confirmed recovering the video, multiple officers aware of the probe said it forms a crucial piece of evidence as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) widens its investigation into what is increasingly being described as a “white-collar” terror module run primarily by doctors.
The NIA confirmed on Sunday that Nabi, a doctor associated with Faridabad’s Al Falah University, used a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) to carry out the November 10 attack that killed at least 12 people. His identity was established through DNA samples matched with his mother, who, along with two brothers, was detained soon after his name surfaced.
Officers in Srinagar say Nabi was the most ideologically extreme among the group of medical professionals under scrutiny. At the time of the attack, he was reportedly operating multiple phones, and investigators are now mapping the number of devices and SIM cards used in the conspiracy.
So far, three doctors—Dr Muzammil Ganaie, Dr Shaheen Shahid and Dr Adeel Rather—have been arrested. Another doctor, Dr Muzzaffar Rather, believed to be part of the network, is suspected to be in Afghanistan. Agencies are also searching for Dr Nissar ul-Hassan, who worked alongside Nabi and the others at Al Falah University. The Delhi Police Special Cell suspects the group may have attempted to replicate the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing in which a CRPF convoy was targeted using a car packed with explosives.
Former Jammu and Kashmir police chief SP Vaid said such videos are potent tools of radicalisation, especially among vulnerable youth in the Valley. He noted similarities to the Pulwama bomber Adil Ahmed Dar, who also recorded a justification video before the attack. Retired IPS officer Ashok Chand added that while such recordings are not new, the presence of a suicide bomber within a metro city underlines the need for heightened vigilance across all levels of the intelligence network.
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