An accidental explosion struck Nowgam police station on the outskirts of Srinagar on Friday night. The blast killed at least nine people and left several others injured. Most of the victims were police personnel and forensic staff, according to officials quoted by PTI.
Soon after the incident, at least 24 police personnel and three civilians were taken to different hospitals across Srinagar. Officials said the bodies were later shifted to the Police Control Room.
Rescue teams recovered seven bodies from the site. Later, they found the remains of two more victims. Officials told HT that all the deceased are yet to be identified.
Explosives Linked to Faridabad Case
Officials said the explosion occurred while teams were handling explosive material that had been seized from Faridabad in Haryana. Security agencies had confiscated a large cache of explosives after busting a “white-collar” terror module.
The seized items included nearly 360 kilograms of explosives from the rented home of arrested doctor Muzammil Ganaie. Officials said the police were extracting samples as part of an ongoing investigation into the terror network.
Some of the confiscated explosives were stored at the Forensic Lab, while the majority was kept inside the Nowgam police station. A primary case linked to the terror module had also been registered there.
The strong explosion damaged parts of the police station building. Injured personnel were rushed to hospitals. However, the bomb disposal squad struggled to reach them immediately due to small follow-up blasts, PTI reported.
Previous Threats in the Area
This tragedy came just weeks after threatening posters targeting police and security personnel appeared on walls in Bunpora, Nowgam. The posters surfaced in mid-October. Srinagar Police treated the matter as serious and formed a special investigation team.
PTI reported that three suspects — Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil (now arrested), Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid — were identified through CCTV analysis. The footage showed them pasting the posters. Investigators also learned that the suspects already had stone-pelting cases against them.
Their questioning led police to Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic who had become an Imam in Shopian. According to PTI, he supplied the threatening posters and also worked to radicalise doctors by using his close connections within the medical community.
Trail Leads to Faridabad University
The investigation eventually reached Al Falah University in Faridabad. Police arrested two doctors — Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Shaheen Sayeed — from the institute. They also recovered a large quantity of chemicals, including ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, and sulphur.
Connection to the Red Fort Blast
The car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort, which killed 11 people, was also traced back to the same Faridabad terror module. Dr Umar un-Nabi, the driver of the exploded vehicle, was associated with Al-Falah University.
After the Delhi blast, the National Investigation Agency joined the probe. Officers soon identified at least four doctors from Al-Falah who were linked to the terror group.
On Friday, three more doctors were detained. Police believe they had frequent contact with Nabi. The detained doctors are Dr Mushtakeem, Dr Mohammad, and Dr Rehaan Hayat.
Delhi Police officers said the scrutiny of Al-Falah University has increased sharply because three of its doctors — Umar, Muzammil, and Dr Shaheen Shahid — have already been arrested or named in the investigation.