9 killed, 30 injured in ‘accidental explosion’ at Nowgam police station

SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: An “accidental explosion” at Nowgam police station late Friday night, caused by substances seized during raids in an NCR city and transported to Kashmir by police, killed 9 people and injured 30.J&K DGP Nalin Prabhat said at a press briefing in Srinagar on Saturday morning a huge cache of explosive substances, chemicals and reagents were recovered from Faridabad on Nov 9 and 10, during the investigation of an interstate terror module.“The recovery was transported and kept securely in the open area of the police station (Nowgam),” Prabhat said, adding, “As part of prescribed procedure, samples of the recovery had to be forwarded for further forensic and chemical examination. On account of the voluminous and sensitive nature of the recovery, it was being handled with utmost caution. However … an accidental explosion took place at about 11.20 pm on Nov 14. Any other speculation into the cause of this incident is unnecessary.” The DGP didn’t take questions.The Union home ministry, too, said in New Delhi that the Nowgam police station explosion was triggered accidentally as explosives recovered from the recently busted terror module were being handled and sampled by forensic experts and other agencies ahead of their transport to FSL, Jammu. There are SOPs for handling and sampling seized explosives and officials in Delhi said these were followed in Nowgam as police personnel, magisterial staff and forensic experts continued working late into Friday night to complete the sampling. Though protective gear, like bomb suits, is available, forensic teams rarely use them. Officials said an external agent yet to be ascertained but which could be a flying spark from something nearby, may have triggered the explosion, with the cars of teams parked nearby adding to its magnitude.The explosion at the police station, operating from a private house in the heart of Nowgam’s posh Sheikh-ul-Alam Colony, shook large parts of Srinagar and reduced the police station to rubble. Among the nine killed were a Special Investigation Agency officer, three Forensic Science Laboratory personnel, two revenue officials, and a tailor associated with the police station. Thirty others — 27 policemen, two revenue officials and three civilians — were wounded.Nowgam police station had investigated the Jaish-e-Mohammed posters that appeared in Bonpora area of Nowgam on Oct 19, an inquiry that led to the busting of an interstate terror module involving doctors and others.Ruling out any terror angle, J&K DGP Prabhat said the cause of this “unfortunate incident” is being inquired into. L-G Manoj Sinha said govt stands in solidarity with the families, friends, and loved ones of the departed. “All possible assistance is being provided to those affected. I’ve ordered a probe to ascertain the cause of the accidental explosion,” he added.MHA officials told TOI that around 358 kg of explosives recovered from Faridabad was transported in a Tata 407 goods carrier to Nowgam police station earlier this week as “case property”. As per the law case property, comprising recoveries from all raided locations, must be deposited at the police station where the FIR is registered.“Deeply anguished by the loss of precious lives due to extremely tragic accidental blast at Nowgam Police Station in Srinagar. My condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for speedy recovery of the injured,” the L-G said in a post on X. CM Omar Abdullah extended his “heartfelt condolences” to the bereaved families and prayed for the swift recovery of those injured.Later in the day, when some media channels reported that People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), a JeM proxy declared a “terrorist organisation” by the Union home ministry in 2023, had claimed responsibility for the “attack”, the police issued a quick rebuttal: “The claim of PAFF or any other Pakistani terrorist group is patently false, baseless and mischievous.”J&K police had placed concertina wire at the entrance to Sheikh-ul-Alam Colony on Friday, and policemen carrying AK-47s were allowing people to pass only after thorough checks. The road leading to Nowgam police station, located deep inside the colony, was covered with shattered window panes, twisted tin sheets and other debris as residents stepped out to describe what happened the previous night.“It felt like it was a missile strike,” said a resident living a few hundred metres from the police station. He said he was asleep when a loud bang shook his two-storey house and window panes fell onto his bed. For a moment, he said, he believed a fresh war between India and Pakistan had started. “Then I heard cries, and in the neighbourhood several young girls staying here for studies screamed. It was complete mayhem.”Another resident said he grabbed his child and ran outside after the explosion, seeing policemen fleeing in panic. “One policeman kept saying he was fine, and then blood started coming out of his mouth and he fell down,” he said. Another resident said that when he stepped out and walked towards the police station, he saw a man completely covered in black powder asking for help. “I gave him a cloth to clean himself, and I recognised him as the cook of the police station, who had survived.”Nowgam police station was housed in a rented building for the past three decades. “I have always seen the police station here. I think in 1997 there was a cylinder blast at the station,” a resident said. He said that over the past few days the police station had seen heavy movement, with several officials visiting regularly station as an “important case was being investigated there”.A labourer who works as a chowkidar in a building near the police station said there was a big blast followed by several smaller explosions that shattered windows and cracked walls in the locality. He said that in the morning he saw policemen recovering some body parts. He said the fire service had arrived within 10 minutes of the explosion and helped douse the flames and save the locality.The police station now lies in complete ruin. Its gate and boundary walls are gone. Several vehicles on the road outside are damaged, their window panes blown out. Inside the compound, charred vehicles lie flipped over by the blast, and the building itself is now a heap of rubble.A young man whose house is adjacent to the police station and separated only by a wall said the blast threw him off his feet and falling window glass injured his eyes and face. He then rushed to the nearby Ujala hospital, across the main road. Those killed in the blast were from different parts of the Valley. Relatives and friends were inconsolable at the wreath-laying ceremony at the police control room, Srinagar.When the body of tailor Mohammad Shafi Parry was brought home in Nowgam on Saturday afternoon, mourning erupted across the area. Locals said he was widely loved and an active social worker in the community.

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