New Delhi: A major accidental blast took place at the Nowgam police station on the outskirts of Srinagar which killed six people and injured 28 others. The incident happened late Friday night while officials were examining samples from a large stock of explosives recently seized in the ‘white-collar’ terror module case.
According to officials, most of those killed and injured were policemen and forensic experts who were handling the explosive material. The explosives had been brought from Faridabad in Haryana as part of the investigation.
The seized material was around 360-kg of stock recovered from a rented house belonging to arrested doctor Muzammil Ganaie. Officials said the team was taking samples at the police station when the blast took place. Six bodies have been recovered but identities are still unknown. The bodies have been shifted to the Police Control Room in Srinagar.
Twenty-four policemen and three civilians have been admitted to different hospitals for treatment. The powerful explosion damaged the police station building and shook the surrounding area. Rescue operations were delayed because small blasts continued for some time after the main explosion, making it unsafe for the bomb squad to enter immediately.
Explosives recovered earlier were to be stored in the police forensic lab, but a large portion was kept at the Nowgam police station as the case was registered here.
This terror module came to light after threatening posters targeting police and security forces appeared in Bunpora, Nowgam, in mid-October. A case was filed on October 19, and police formed a special team to investigate. CCTV footage helped identify the first three suspects- Arif Nisar Dar, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar, who were seen putting up the posters. Their names are already filed in stone-pelting cases.
Their questioning led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic turned preacher from Shopian. Further investigation exposed a network involving doctors, including arrested Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, Dr Shaheen Sayeed, and others, linked to the 360-kg explosives haul. Police say the module was mainly run by three doctors, with more roles still under investigation.