At least nine people were killed and 32 injured after some seized explosives that were stored at Nowgam police station in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) exploded on Friday. J&K Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat told a press conference that the blast was “accidental” and any “further speculation about the cause of this incident is unnecessary”.
According to initial reports, the blast occurred when some policemen and authorities were extracting samples from a large cache of 360 kg of explosives and explosives seized in a case of a white-collar terror cell in Haryana.
Nowgam blast case: Latest update
- Among the dead in the Nowgam blast case are three people 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.
- The others injured were collecting samples brought from Haryana when the bomb exploded. The material was part of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, recovered from Faridabad.
- The material was part of 360 kg of explosives recovered from the rented residence of arrested accused Dr. Muzammil Ganai. They were opened, Prashant Lokhande, MHA Joint Secretary said.
- As there were several small explosions, they prevented the immediate rescue operations of the bomb disposal squad. Also read | Police arrest two hybrid terrorists in Kashmir’s Sopore area; weapons and ammunition found – details here
- The cause of the Nowgam blast case is under investigation. The police station building is very badly damaged.
- The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said any further “speculation about this incident is unnecessary”.
During a press conference, DGP Nalin Prabhat said, “FIR number 162/2025 PS Nowgam, a huge quantity of explosives and chemicals were also recovered from Faridabad on November 9 and 10 during the investigation. This seizure, like the rest of the recovery we made, was transported and safely stored in the open area of the Nowgam police station.”
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“As part of the prescribed procedure, samples of the extract had to be submitted for further forensic and chemical examination. This process has been going on for the last two days by the FSL team. Due to the unstable and sensitive nature of the extract, the sampling process, the FSL team handled it with extreme caution.”
He said: “Unfortunately, however, there was an accidental explosion during this course last night around 11.20pm. Any further speculation as to the cause of this incident is unnecessary. In this unfortunate incident, nine people lost their lives and 27 policemen, two officials and three civilians from the surrounding areas were injured.”
