Nine people died in the Nowgam Police Station blast in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. Officials from the MHA and J&K Police said the explosion occurred accidentally during sampling of seized explosives. A scientific inquiry is underway, and authorities have urged the public not to speculate.
A powerful accidental explosion inside Nowgam Police Station in Srinagar killed nine people and left many others injured during the handling of seized explosives. | Pic courtesy: IANS
A day after a massive accidental blast tore through the Nowgam Police Station in Srinagar, killing nine people and injuring over 30, senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Jammu & Kashmir Police have issued detailed statements explaining how the incident occurred.
The explosion, which took place late on November 14, severely damaged the police station building and affected nearby structures. Officials say the blast happened while forensic experts and investigators were sampling explosive materials seized during the recent crackdown on the “white-collar” terror module linked to Faridabad.
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Prashant Lokhande, the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs J&K division, said the blast occurred during a standard, multi-agency procedure involving the examination and sampling of chemicals and explosive substances recovered in FIR 162/2025.
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“During the investigation of FIR 162 of 2025, a huge cache of explosive substances and chemicals were recovered. The recovery was kept securely in an open area of the police station,” said Lokhande.
He said the process had been underway for almost two days due to the “voluminous” nature of the seized material. “Owing to unstable and sensitive nature of the recovery, it was being handled very carefully under the expert supervision. However, during the process, an accidental explosion took place at about 11.20 PM yesterday night” he noted.
The senior official confirmed that nine people lost their lives, “whereas 27 police personnel, 2 revenue officials and 3 civilians have received injuries”.
Lokhande stressed that the cause is under investigation, but “any other speculation into the cause of this incident is unnecessary.”
He said the government stands with the families of those killed.
J&K DGP Nalin Prabhat, who inspected the spot on Wednesday, said the explosive material being sampled had been recovered from Faridabad on November 9 and 10. It was part of the large seizure made during the unravelling of the terror module connected to Al-Falah University.
“This recovery, like the rest of the recoveries which we have done, was transported and kept securely in the open area of the Police Station Nowgam.”
He said the sampling task was being conducted by forensic experts under strict supervision.
“On account of the voluminous nature of the recovery, this process was going on for the past 2 days, which means yesterday and the day before, by the FSL team. Due to the unstable and sensitive nature of the recovery, the sampling process and handling was being done with utmost caution by the FSL team. However, unfortunately, during this course, last night, around 11.20 PM, an accidental explosion took place.”
He confirmed the same casualty figures and added that the blast caused extensive damage to the police station building and impacted nearby structures. Fire tenders and ambulances were deployed immediately.
He reiterated that “any other speculation into the cause of this incident is unnecessary”.
“Nine people have lost their lives in this incident. One personnel of SIA, 3 personnel of the FSL team, 2 crime scene photographers, 2 revenue officials who were part of the Magistrate’s team, 1 tailor who was associated with the team.”
“The extent of this damage is being ascertained. The cause of this unfortunate incident is being inquired into,” said the J&K DGP.
A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reached the damaged site on Thursday morning to collect additional samples. The area around the police station remains cordoned off.
#WATCH | Srinagar, J&K: A team of FSL arrives at the spot near the Nowgam Police Station where a blast occurred last night, claiming 9 lives and leaving several others injured. pic.x.com/8Trws6pSGM
— ANI (@ANI) November 15, 2025
Officials said the explosive material that went off was part of the haul recovered from Faridabad when the “white-collar” Jaish-e-Mohammed module was busted earlier this month, a recovery that included nearly 2,900 kg of explosive substances.
The materials being examined in Nowgam were seized from locations connected to the arrested doctors and associates linked to the alleged JeM-backed network. Two of the accused, Dr Muzammil Ganaie and Dr Adeel Rather, were arrested with significant quantities of chemicals, while the third, Dr Umar Nabi, died when the explosive-laden car he was driving blew up near Delhi’s Red Fort.
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