The blast tore through Nowgam police station, torching vehicles and shattering windows in nearby homes; J&K DGP Nalin Prabhat says the explosion was an accident
JAMMU: At least nine people were killed and 32 others were injured after a cache of confiscated explosives detonated inside the Nowgam police station on the outskirts of Srinagar on Friday night.
The region’s Director General of Police, Nalin Prabhat, said the blast occurred when a team of forensic experts and police were extracting samples from a cache of explosives seized in the Faridabad terror module case.
According to officials, the blast was triggered by the unstable nature of the chemicals, which was part of the 360 kg of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, recovered from the rented accommodation of arrested accused Dr Muzammil Ganaie from Faridabad and stored at the police station.
The blast caused extensive damage to the building and set several vehicles in the compound on fire. Windowpanes of nearby houses were also shattered, and the impact was felt few kilometres away.
Those killed included three personnel from the Forensic Science Laboratory, two from the Revenue Department, including a Naib Tehsildar, two police photographers, one member of the State Investigation Agency, and a tailor, who was called to assist the police investigators to collect samples of the explosives seized from a “white collar” terror module busted recently. The tailor has been identified as Mohammad Shafi Parray (47), a tailor by profession.