SRINAGAR: Nine people were killed and 32 injured when confiscated explosives detonated in what officials described as an accidental blast at the Nowgam police station in Srinagar late Friday night.
Officials said most of the dead were police personnel and members of a forensic team who had been examining a cache of explosives recovered earlier in the week in Haryana. The Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed the casualties, with Joint Secretary Prashant Lokhande stating that the cause of the explosion was under investigation and that speculation should be avoided.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat both characterised the incident as accidental. The police chief said the material was highly unstable and officers had been collecting samples with caution. He said the explosion severely damaged the police station building and affected nearby structures.
The Press Trust of India reported that rescue teams were initially unable to enter the area because of small follow up explosions. Police dismissed claims attributed to the People’s Anti Fascist Front or any suggestion of foreign involvement, calling such reports false and irresponsible.
Those killed in the blast included three officials from the Forensic Science Laboratory, two revenue department employees, two police photographers, a member of the State Investigation Agency and a tailor. Officials said 24 police personnel and three civilians were receiving treatment at hospitals in Srinagar.
A police source told Reuters that some bodies were badly burned and that body parts were found more than 100 metres from the site because of the force of the explosion.
The incident follows a car blast in New Delhi four days earlier that left at least eight people dead. India has described that event as a terror attack and the National Investigation Agency is leading the inquiry. Officials have not publicly identified possible suspects or links to any group.
Indian media have connected the New Delhi blast to arrests made shortly before the explosion, during which explosives and weapons were reportedly seized. Police have since conducted large scale searches in occupied Kashmir beginning on Wednesday, although authorities have not confirmed any connection between the raids and the Delhi incident.
Security forces also searched Al Falah University in Faridabad and on Friday demolished a house in Pulwama district as part of the wider operation.
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