J&K police station blast: DGP rules out terror link, MHA says cause under investigation
The DGP said the police station building and nearby structures suffered extensive damage.
The DGP said the police station building and nearby structures suffered extensive damage.
The DGP said the police station building and nearby structures suffered extensive damage.
Srinagar: Hours after the blast inside the Nowgam Police Station in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir DGP Nalin Prabhat on Saturday dismissed any terror link to the incident, calling alternative theories “unnecessary speculation.” A total of nine people were killed and 27 others were injured in the accidental blast.
At a press briefing on Saturday, Prashant Lokhande, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the cause of the incident is still under investigation and urged the public to avoid speculation.
Explaining the circumstances, the DGP said a large quantity of explosive material seized from Faridabad had been brought to the Nowgam Police Station and kept securely in an open area.
“Due to the voluminous nature of the recovery, sampling of the explosive material had been underway for the last two days for further forensic and chemical examination. Owing to the material's unstable and sensitive nature, it was handled with extreme caution. Unfortunately, around 11.20 pm on Friday, there was an accidental explosion of the seized material,” he said.
“In this unfortunate incident, nine people have lost their lives—one personnel of the Special Investigation Agency, two revenue officers, three members of the FSL team, two Crime Branch photographers, and a tailor,” he added.
The DGP said the police station building and nearby structures suffered extensive damage. “The police station building was severely damaged, and adjacent buildings were also affected. The cause of this unfortunate incident is unclear right now. Police stand firmly with the families of the deceased,” he said.
The injured have been shifted to the Army’s Base Hospital in Badami Bagh and the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, for treatment, reported IANS.
Earlier on Saturday, DGP Prabhat, accompanied by senior officers, visited the Nowgam Police Station for an on-spot assessment. The blast was so powerful that it shattered the glass of nearby buildings, and the sound was heard 5–10 km away.
Several vehicles parked inside the police station caught fire after the explosion, and fire tenders were deployed to douse the flames. Ambulances rushed to the station to evacuate the injured personnel.