Delhi: Investigators confirmed the first details surrounding the disturbing video recorded by Delhi suicide bomber Dr Umar Mohammad, also known as Umar-un-Nabi, after retrieving the clip from a damaged mobile phone he had handed to his brother in Pulwama at least a week before the November 10 Red Fort car blast that killed 13 people.
The video, which surfaced on Tuesday, showed Nabi describing suicide attacks as “martyrdom operations,” prompting questions about when it was recorded and the chain of events leading up to the bombing.
According to sources, Nabi visited his family home in Pulwama a week before the attack. Prior to leaving for Faridabad, where he worked as an assistant professor in the General Medicine department at Al Falah University, he gave one of his two mobile phones to his brother. In the days that followed, the brother became aware of the arrests of several of Nabi’s colleagues and acquaintances from the university.
Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather was arrested on 7 November for allegedly putting up terror-linked posters in Srinagar, followed by the arrest of Dr Muzammil Shakeel on 9 November in connection with an explosives seizure in Faridabad. On 10 November, hours before the Red Fort blast, the brother also learnt that another colleague, Dr Shaheen Saeed, had been detained.
Sources said the brother recognised the arrested individuals as Nabi’s close associates and heard that police were searching for his sibling. Panicking, he threw the phone into a pond near their home. When investigators attempted to track the two devices known to be used by Nabi, both were found switched off, with their last active locations traced to Delhi and Pulwama.
A team subsequently reached Nabi’s residence, where intensive questioning prompted the brother to admit that Nabi had given him a phone, which he had disposed of out of fear. The bombing took place while this questioning was still underway. The device was retrieved from the pond only after the attack, but severe water damage left the motherboard partially dysfunctional. It took several days before the investigators succeeded in extracting the video.
In the recovered clip, Nabi attempted to justify suicide bombings, referring to them as “martyrdom operations” and arguing that the concept was rooted in Islamic tradition. He spoke about destiny and death, insisting that no one could control when their life would end, before urging viewers: “Don’t fear death.” A psychological assessment suggested he appeared highly self-assured, focused on delivering a rehearsed message and convinced of his ideology.
Sources further revealed that the video was recorded in Room 13 of Building 17 at Al Falah University, the same venue where a group of radicalised doctors allegedly linked to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed was believed to have held meetings. Earlier investigations had uncovered 2,900 kg of explosives from a room rented under the name of Dr Muzammil Shakeel.
Officials believe the video was filmed at least a week before the blast, and possibly earlier. It remains uncertain whether Nabi was referring to the attack he eventually carried out or addressing others the group was attempting to radicalise.
