Manoj Sinha (ANI photo)
SRINAGAR: J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Friday met the families of those killed in the Nowgam police station blast last month, and handed over appointment letters on compassionate grounds.Paying tribute to the deceased policemen, Sinha said “the entire country is proud of J&K Police for stopping terror in its tracks by unearthing and dismantling the terror network last month”. The nation “stands shoulder to shoulder with the families to ensure they live a life of comfort and dignity”, he added.It was Nowgam police’s probe into the Jaish-e-Mohammad posters that appeared in the Bonpora area on Oct 19 that led to the unravelling of the white-collar interstate terror module involving doctors and others.The powerful explosion that ripped through the Nowgam police station in Srinagar’s posh Sheikh Ul Alam locality around 11:30 pm on Nov 14 reduced the building to rubble. The blast reportedly occurred as a forensic team and police were examining a large cache of explosives seized from Faridabad during the investigation into the terror module.Those killed included Special Investigation Agency officer Asrar Ahmad Shah, three forensic science lab personnel, constables Aijaz Ahmad, Mohammad Amin and Showkat Ahmad Sheikh, revenue officials Muzaffar Ahmed and Suhail Ahmad Rather, crime photographers Javaid Mansoor Rather and Arshid Ahmad Shah, and Mohammad Shafi Parry, a tailor associated with the police station. Thirty-two others, including three civilians, were wounded.DGP Nalin Prabhat described it as an accidental explosion and the LG, too, ruled out “any terrorist conspiracy”.
