Red Fort Blast: Video Related to Suicide Attack Found in Bomber's Phone (2025)

Video glorifying suicide attack found in suicide bomber's phone 

PTI, NEW DELHI, NOV 18, 2025 : Jammu and Kashmir Police have recovered a mobile phone of the Red Fort suicide bomber, Dr Umar-un-Nabi, and the extracted data has provided chilling evidence to show that he had prepared a video justifying the suicide attack as a 'martyrdom operation'.

The critical evidence was unearthed after the detention and subsequent interrogation of Zahoor Illahi, brother of Umar who was driving the explosive-laden car that blasted outside Red Fort on November 10 killing 15 people, officials said on Tuesday.

Illahi was picked up by a special team formed by Senior Superintendent of Police (Srinagar) G V Sundeep Chakravarthy as the entire white-collar terror module conspiracy began to unravel. Initially feigning ignorance, Illahi eventually cracked under sustained questioning and told his interrogators that Umar, who was in the Kashmir valley between October 26 and 29, had handed him the mobile phone with explicit instructions to "dump it in water" if any news about him surfaced, the officials said.

Illahi subsequently led the police team to the dumping spot. Though the handset was damaged, forensic experts managed to extract the vital data, which strongly indicates Umar's deep radicalisation through exposure to violent extremist content that included watching radical videos pertaining to suicide bombings by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda.

Umar had also made various videos of himself talking about the suicide attack and claimed that such acts were one of the most praised acts in the religion. The nearly two-minute-long video of Umar also made rounds on social media. The phone was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for further analysis, officials said, adding the NIA will take custody of the brother soon