At least nine people were killed and 32 injured in what authorities have described as an accidental explosion at the Nowgam police station in Srinagar on Friday night (November 14). The blast occurred while police were handling explosives recovered from Faridabad, Haryana, during the investigation of an inter-state terror module.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has ordered a high-level probe into the incident. In a statement on Saturday (November 15), the J&K Police firmly rejected what they called “mischievous and baseless” claims circulating on social media that Pakistan-based terror groups, including Jaish-e-Mohammed’s PAFF, were involved in the explosion.
Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat said the blast took place as officials were extracting samples from a large cache of seized explosives to send for forensic analysis. “Due to the sensitive and unstable nature of the material, the sampling was being conducted with utmost caution. Despite all safety measures, an accidental blast occurred,” he said.
Union Home Ministry Joint Secretary Prashant Lokhande stated that the exact cause of the explosion is still under investigation. He added that the explosives had been transported over the past two days as part of standard operating procedures for forensic examination.
