Nine people were killed in an explosion at the Nowgam police station on the outskirts of Srinagar late on Friday, in what authorities described as an accidental blast linked to a major explosives recovery made recently in Haryana’s Faridabad. Officials confirmed that the explosion occurred while forensic teams were extracting samples from material seized during a crackdown on a ‘white collar’ terror module. The cache, weighing nearly 2,900 kilograms, was tied to the same network connected to the recent Delhi Red Fort blast that killed at least 10 people.
Experts Killed While Handling Explosives
Among the nine people who died in the Nowgam blast were a Special Investigation Agency (SIA) personnel of the J&K Police, three FSL experts, two crime scene photographers, two revenue officials attached to the magistrate’s team, and a tailor working with the group.
Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Nalin Prabhat said the explosion took place while forensic specialists were attempting to extract samples from the cache recovered in Faridabad.
The explosives form part of the 2,900-kilogram haul seized during raids targeting an inter-state ‘white collar’ terror module. This network has been linked to the Delhi Red Fort blast, which killed at least 10 people, and to the case registered in Nowgam on 19 October, after Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) posters warning of a “spectacular attack” were found.
Crackdown On JeM Module
The investigation that began with the posters led police to Faridabad, where security agencies uncovered nearly 3,000kg of inflammable chemicals and reagents from two villages. Multiple arrests followed, including clerics and doctors, several associated with Al Falah University.
CCTV-based questioning of three former stone-pelters led police to cleric Irfan Wagay, the imam at the Chanpora mosque, later found to be connected to urban support cells of JeM and Ansar Ghazwat–ul-Hind (AGuH).
Of the seized material, 2,563kg was recovered from the home of Hafeez Mohammad Ishtiaq, imam at Faridabad’s Dhera Colony. Follow-up raids yielded another 358kg of explosives, detonators and timers.
Subsequently, police arrested Arif Nisar Dar (alias Sahil), Yasir-ul-Ashraf, Maqsood Ahmad Dar (alias Shahid), Zameer Ahmad Ahanger (alias Mutlasha), Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie (alias Musaib) and Dr Aadil Rather. JeM posters were also seized from Wagay’s residence.
During the wider crackdown, Dr Umar un Nabi, a member of the same module, allegedly triggered the Red Fort blast on 10 November, using the same type of material stockpiled in Faridabad.
