‘Major sin in Islam’: Delhi blast accused Dr Umar’s take on suicide bombing stirs up social media

Dr Umar Un Nabi, the main suspect in the 10 November Delhi blast, believed the concept of “suicide bombing” was misunderstood. A video has also surfaced online, showing him speaking about it.

"One of the very misunderstood concepts is what has been labelled as ‘suicide bombing’. It is a martyrdom operation," Umar says in the video.

"There are multiple arguments and contradictions that have been brought against it. Martyrdom operation is when a person presumes that he is going to die for sure at a particular place, at a particular time," he further says.

Social media users did not mince words while slamming Dr Umar Un Nabi.

“Committing suicide is a major sin in Islam. Only someone with ‘Khawarij’ mentality would support it. And, the one who commits suicide will be punished in Hell for eternity,” wrote one of them.

“How can this mindset change, if education, status and financial freedom are also not guiding them for social harmony? How can the sick loonies ask questions of why society does not accept this behaviour?” asked another user.

Another user wrote, “He spoke like he was giving a TED Talk, but the content was straight out of a graveyard. Empty soul, borrowed accent.”

“We’ve reached a point where even suicide bombers -people who kill innocents—try to glorify their actions as ‘martyrdom.’ There is no religion on earth that permits suicide or the murder of civilians,” commented another.

Another posted, “This video is a tight slap on the face of all those who called it an accidental blast!”

Who is Dr Umar Un Nabi?

Dr Umar Un Nabi was a trained medical doctor. He worked as an Assistant Professor at the Government Medical College in Jammu and Kashmir.

He was dismissed from the hospital due to his negligence in a patient’s death. He later worked at a private hospital in Faridabad.

The explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort killed at least 12 and injured many more. While Dr Umar Un Nabi has not been convicted, a DNA test confirmed that he was driving the vehicle that exploded.

Several relatives and close contacts have been detained for questioning. The NIA and Delhi Police are still probing his suspected terror links.

Was it ‘suicide bombing’?

According to officials, early indications suggest that the blast was accidental rather than intentional. The car was moving normally in traffic. It was not driven into a crowd to cause maximum damage.

Intelligence sources told NDTV that the blast had been accidental. A faulty improvised explosive device (IED) linked to an inter-state terror module exploded while being moved. According to the sources, it was not “suicide bombing”, but an accidental blast due to mishandling.

However, an officer told The Times of India that it was still under investigation.

"Dr Umar, a member of the module, changed his location from the Al Falah Medical College campus following the crackdown on other members. He is the one who was driving the car used in the blast, as corroborated by CCTV footage. The blast was caused by the same explosives recovered from Faridabad hideouts," an officer said.

"Whether this blast was premeditated or accidental is a matter of investigation," the officer added.