Jammu Kashmir Blast Nowgam Police Station

Jammu & Kashmir Blast: Nine Dead, 29 Injured in Accidental Explosion at Nowgam Police Station

A powerful explosion tore through the Nowgam police station in Srinagar late on Friday (November 14), killing nine people and injuring at least 29 others. The blast occurred when police personnel were taking samples of a stockpile of explosives that had been seized during an operation in Faridabad (Haryana). The police suspect it to be part of an inter-State terror module.

The police confirmed that the explosion took place in the process of sampling the seized materials. Because the materials were extremely sensitive and unstable, careful sampling procedures were followed, but despite that, it exploded, causing a lot of damage inside the police station and resulting in many casualties.

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police, Nalin Prabhat, spoke to the media on Saturday (November 15) and explained that it was an accidental explosion. He explained, “About 2,900 kg of IED-making material was seized by police during raids and kept at the police station for sampling.” He added, “We had taken every possible precaution, but the nature of the seized materials makes the situation extremely dangerous.”

In addition, the Union Home Ministry provided updates on the incident. Joint Secretary Prashant Lokhande mentioned that the exact cause of the explosion is yet to be ascertained. He stated that most of the materials recovered have been sent for forensic examination according to standard operating procedure. The transportation of the explosives resulted in no further incident and been continue to travel two days thereafter.

Friday’s incident has once again raised questions regarding the handling and storage of explosives used in terrorist investigation and there will be a comprehensive investigation into this explosive device after identifying the cause of the blast to determine if further measures should be taken to avoid similar incidents again.