An accidental explosion at Srinagar’s Nowgam police station killed personnel while sampling 360 kg of explosives recovered from a blast accused. LG Manoj Sinha ordered a probe as leaders, including Omar Abdullah and Mallikarjun Kharge, expressed grief and urged stronger security measures
Parts of Nowgam station and nearby civilian houses were damaged by the blast. Pic/PTI
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha paid floral tributes to the victims of an “accidental” explosion in Srinagar on Saturday. Through a post on his official X handle, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, “The chief minister has expressed deep sorrow and grief over the tragic accidental explosion at Nowgam police station, which claimed precious lives and left several personnel injured.”
The materials being sampled were approximately 360 kg of explosive substances, chemicals, and reagents, including ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, and sulphur. This cache was recovered by J&K Police from the rented residence of Delhi blast arrested accused Dr Muzzamil Ganaie in Faridabad on November 9 and 10. The bulk of the 360 kg of explosives was stored securely in an open area at the Nowgam police station.
Omar Abdullah, Mallikarjun Kharge, Manoj Sinha
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that this is a wake-up call for the Central government to strengthen intelligence and anti-terror mechanisms. He also demanded an all-party meeting to discuss the growing threat of terrorism.
In a post on X, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced, “I have ordered a probe to ascertain the cause of the accidental explosion.”
The sampling process, necessary due to the “voluminous” nature of the recovery, had been ongoing for two days. The massive blast severely damaged the police station building and affected adjacent structures.
“The huge cache of explosives was brought from Haryana’s Faridabad in a Tata 407 pickup truck in small bags,” a top official said. On the reason behind transporting the explosives to Kashmir, he said, “The original case was registered at the Nowgam police station and the explosives were the case property of that police station. Hence, we needed to transport them.”
The investigators believe a core trio of doctors — Dr Ganaie, Umar Nabi (the driver of the car that exploded near the Red Fort on November 10), and Muzzaffar Rather (absconding) — were running the module.
360
Kilograms of explosives were stored at the Nowgam police station
Delhi Police make two more arrests
Delhi Police have detained three persons, including two doctors from Haryana’s Al Falah University who were known to Dr Umar Nabi, the driver of the car that exploded near the Red Fort, officials said on Saturday. The detentions were made during coordinated raids conducted on Friday night by the Delhi Police Special Cell and a National Investigation Agency team in Haryana’s Dhauj, Nuh and adjoining areas, officials said. The two were allegedly in touch with Dr Muzammil Ganaie.
Metro reopens near Red Fort
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation on Saturday reopened two entry gates at Lal Quila Metro station, nearly four days after the facility was shut in the aftermath of the blast. In a post on X, the DMRC said, “The Red Fort metro station’s gate numbers 2 and 3 are now open for commuters, restoring partial access that had been suspended as part of security measures following the incident.”
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