New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday reported that nine people were killed and 32 others injured in a “massive” accidental explosion at the Nowgam police station in Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing a press briefing, Prashant Lokhande, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the cause of the incident is under investigation and urged people not to indulge in unnecessary speculation.
He explained that a large quantity of explosive materials and chemicals had been recovered during the probe into a terror module and was stored securely in an open area within the premises of the Nowgam police station on the outskirts of Srinagar. As per standard protocol, the seized explosives were being examined through forensic and chemical analysis.
Due to the large volume of materials recovered, the examination process had been ongoing for the past two days, Lokhande said. Given the “unstable and sensitive” nature of the substances, they were being handled with utmost caution under expert supervision.
“However, during the process, an accidental explosion occurred around 11:20 pm on November 14. In this unfortunate incident, nine people lost their lives, while 27 police personnel, two revenue officials, and three civilians sustained injuries,” he stated.
The explosion caused severe damage to the police station and affected several nearby buildings as well. Lokhande reiterated that the cause of the explosion is being thoroughly probed and stressed that any speculation about the incident is unwarranted.
