Nine killed, 29 injured in massive accidental blast at Nowgam police station in Srinagar

A massive accidental blast inside Nowgam police station in Srinagar killed nine and injured 29, including police personnel. The explosives had been seized from a white-collar terror module. Emergency services rushed to control fire and evacuate the injured.

Srinagar: Nine people were killed and 29 others injured in the massive accidental blast inside the Nowgam police station in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Srinagar district, official sources said on Saturday.

“Nine people were killed and 29 others injured when a massive accidental blast took part inside the Nowgam police station when police personnel including those from the forensic wing were sampling the explosive material.

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“The identities of the people killed in this unfortunate accident will be shared after exact details are confirmed. The dead include a Naib Tehsildar (Executive Magistrate) and a local tailor. Some of the bodies have been completely burnt and this is taking time to identity the dead.

“The injured have been shifted to the Army’s base hospital in Badami Bagh area and other hospitals for treatment”, official sources said.

Same sources said that the explosive material that went off was seized during the raid in Faridabad when the white collar terror module was busted.

DGP J&K, Nalin Prabhat accompanied by senior police officers went to Nowgam police station for an on spot assessment of the situation.

The blast that occurred inside Nowgam police station was so massive that it shattered the glass of buildings around and the sound of the blast was heard in areas 5-10 Kms away from Nowgam area.

A number of vehicles parked inside the police station caught fire due to the massive explosion and fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames.

Ambulances rushed to the police station to evacuate the injured policemen to the hospital.

It must be mentioned that 2,900 Kg ammonium nitrate was recovered by J&K Police when it busted the white collar terror module in Faridabad in coordination with the Haryana Police.

During the raid on Dr. Muzammil Ganaie in Faridabad, 300 Kg of the same explosive material was recovered.

While Dr. Adil Rather and Dr Muzammil Ganaie were arrested, third terror accomplice, Dr Umar Nabi had evaded arrest.

He was later killed in a car blast near the Red Fort, in which several civilians were killed and many others were injured.

A lady doctor from Lucknow, Shaheen Shahid was also arrested after an assault rifle was recovered from her car. The arrest of two Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit led to the busting of the terror module.