Nowgam police station — the nerve centre of the investigation into the recent Jaish-e-Mohammad poster threat case — was reduced to rubble late Friday night after a massive accidental explosion ripped through its premises, killing nine people and injuring 32 others and throwing the investigation off track.
For the past two weeks, the station had been the focal point of a widening probe that began after Jaish posters threatening the police surfaced in Bonpora. Investigations by Nowgam police led agencies to unravel a major “white-collar terrorism” module. This group, involving highly educated individuals including doctors, had allegedly stored and transported explosives disguised as industrial chemicals. The trail eventually led to Faridabad, where quintals of explosive material and reagents were recovered. Officials said the material was similar to substances used in high-impact terror attacks, including the Red Fort blast.
The seized chemicals were brought to Nowgam police station for sampling, turning the modest facility — operating from an old migrant property surrounded by residential houses — into the central laboratory of the investigation.
At around 11.20 pm on Friday, while teams from the State Investigation Agency (SIA), forensic science laboratory and revenue department were collecting and packaging samples, a powerful explosion — heard as far as 10–15 km away — swept through the station. Flames engulfed the building instantly, damaging dozens of nearby homes and injuring many residents.
All approach roads to the police station were sealed soon after, with only senior security officers allowed entry as fire and SDRF teams battled the blaze for hours.
An officer who visited the site described the horror: “Sampling was being done with utmost caution. Even a local tailor had been hired to stitch small bags for the samples. Suddenly, a massive blast engulfed the entire station. Fire teams worked all night to retrieve bodies and rescue the injured. I’ve never seen such horrific scenes.”
A resident of the area, Nazir Ahmad, said the blast shook the entire locality. “I was about to sleep when I heard a thunderous sound. The police station was in flames within seconds. People trapped inside were crying for help. Houses in our neighbourhood were damaged; windowpanes shattered and several civilians suffered minor injuries.”
J&K DGP Nalin Prabhat confirmed the explosion occurred during the sampling of volatile substances recovered from the Faridabad module. “Due to the voluminous and unstable nature of the chemicals and explosives, forensic teams had been working for two days with utmost caution. Unfortunately, an accidental explosion took place around 11.20 pm. Any other speculation is unnecessary,” he said.
The tragedy has raised questions about storing massive quantities of unstable material in a police station located in a densely populated locality. Officers noted that the SIA, which is investigating the Jaish poster case and the broader white-collar terror network, had been conducting sampling at Nowgam at the time.
Investigators continue to collect evidence and question witnesses to determine the exact trigger. Locals recall a small explosion in the area in the late 1990s, but nothing comparable to the one that struck the very station leading the investigation — a blast that has shaken Nowgam and left the heart of the probe in ruins.
Article source: hindustantimes.com
