Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have questioned the handling of a huge cache of seized explosives by the police, which resulted in an accidental blast inside the Nowgam police station in Srinagar on the night of 14 November.
Leaders of the ruling National Conference (NC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and CPI(M) demanded a thorough investigation into the incident that left nine dead and 32 injured.
“Sensitive materials should never have been kept in a manner that could endanger lives inside police premises. The responsibility must be fixed. If it was an accidental blast, then prove it. That will be justice for the victims,” said NC Member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah.
He demanded that those responsible for “mistakes must be identified and held to account.” “The results of the investigation should be made public. If it was not a militant attack, then investigate it thoroughly and let the public know,” Mr Ruhullah said.
NC leader Mushtaq Guroo, MLA from Chanapora, said, “Why was explosive material kept in a police station with a residential area around? Such material should have been kept in isolation and outside the residential area.”
Former Chief Minister and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti said that if the incident was an accidental explosion, “why is no one suspended or held accountable yet”.
Ms Mufti’s daughter, who visited the injured in a hospital in Srinagar, said: “The mishandling of sensitive explosive material shows clear negligence and called for a fair investigation to fix accountability. No Kashmiri should become collateral for the failure of a few.”
CPI(M) leader and MLA MY Tarigami said unnecessary risks could have been avoided if the chemical examination and sampling had been done in Faridabad.
The blast occurred around 11:20 pm when a joint team of the police and the Forensic Science Lab (FSL) was reportedly collecting samples of seized explosives, mainly ammonium nitrate, seized from Faridabad during raids on November 9-10. Jammu and Kashmir police claimed to have seized 2,900 kg of explosives during the raids. Nowgam police busted an interstate terror cell by arresting seven local youths, including two doctors, since October 19 in Kashmir and Faridabad.
Published – 17 Nov 2025 21:36 IST
