Srinagar, Nov 15, KNT: Jammu and Kashmir Police Chief Nalin Prabhat on Saturday said the explosion that tore through Nowgam Police Station late Friday night was an accidental blast that occurred during the handling of highly sensitive explosive material linked to a terror investigation. Addressing a press conference at Police Headquarters Srinagar, the DGP presented a blow-by-blow account of the sequence of events that led to the tragedy.
Prabhat said a massive quantity of explosive substances, chemicals and reagents recovered from Faridabad on November 9 and 10 had been transported to the Valley and stored securely in the open area of the police station as part of standard operating procedure. Samples were earlier sent for forensic and chemical examination but, due to the sheer volume of recovered material, detailed inspection by technical teams was necessary.
According to the DGP, the Forensic Science Laboratory conducted examinations on November 13 and 14 with extreme caution given the unstable nature of the substances. “Around 11.20 pm on Friday, an accidental explosion occurred during one such handling process,” he said.
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Clarifying that the blast was not suspicious in nature, Prabhat said, “Any other speculation into the cause of this incident is unnecessary.” He added that all evidence suggests the explosion occurred during routine procedural handling of the seized material.
Nine people lost their lives in the blast, including an SIA officer, three FSL personnel, two crime scene photographers, two revenue officials accompanying the magistrate’s team and a tailor associated with the operation. Twenty-seven police personnel, two revenue officials and three civilians were injured and rushed to hospital.
The police station structure suffered extensive damage, and several adjoining buildings were also impacted. “The extent of this damage is being ascertained. The cause of this unfortunate incident is being inquired into. J&K Police stands in solidarity with the families of the deceased in this hour of grief,” the police chief said. [KNT]
