NEW DELHI: Nine people were killed and several others were injured in a powerful accidental explosion at the Nowgam police station on the outskirts of Srinagar.According to officials, the blast occurred while a police and forensic team was examining explosive material seized from Faridabad, part of the 2,900 kg chemical cache recovered from an arrested doctor in the case.Also read | 7 dead in J&K blast: CCTV shows exact moment ‘white-terror’ module explosives exploded inside Nowgam police station
The explosion caused successive smaller blasts and damaged the police station.Here are the 10 things to know about the incident and the Faridabad-linked terror module:Accidental blast?The explosion happened late Friday night during sampling of explosives stored at the Nowgam police station, the primary station handling the Faridabad terror module case. The police officials have said whether the blast was pre-planned or accidental will be determined in further investigation. Over two dozen injured, mostly police personnelAt least 27 people — including 24 police personnel and three civilians — were injured, many of whom are undergoing treatment in Srinagar hospitals for burn injuries and blast trauma. Officials said the explosion is linked to the same chain of events that led to the unravelling of a major terror module.Explosives brought from Faridabad for forensic examinationThe explosive material being examined had been transported from Faridabad, Haryana. It was part of the cache seized during the investigation into the white-collar terror module. The seized explosives, had exposed a “white-collar terror module” linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind operating across Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.Also read |‘Each arrest was synchronized to minute’: How precision policing helped UP, J&K cops crack ‘Jaish code of white-collar terror’Cache included 360 kg of chemicalsInvestigators had earlier seized 360 kg of chemicals — ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, sulphur and other materials — from a rented residence linked to arrested doctor Muzammil Ganaie. Approximately 3,000 kilograms of explosives and bomb-making equipment stored by this module was also seized.Explosion damaged the police station buildingThe midnight blast shattered windows, damaged the station structure and disrupted the quiet of the neighbourhood as ambulances and police vehicles rushed to the site.Case originated from threat posters in NowgamThe terror module came under the police radar when posters threatening security forces appeared on walls in Bunpora, Nowgam, in mid-October. This prompted Srinagar Police to register a case on October 19.CCTV analysis led to the first arrestsFrame-by-frame scrutiny of CCTV footage helped identify three suspects — Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid. All three had past stone-pelting cases and were seen pasting the posters.Arrests revealed a new plotInterrogation of the trio led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic-turned-Imam from Shopian. According to PTI, he allegedly supplied the posters and radicalised young doctors by leveraging his access to the medical community.Faridabad link uncovered — doctors at the core of the moduleThe trail then led investigators to Al Falah University in Faridabad, where doctors Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Shaheen Sayeed were arrested. The massive explosive haul was seized there.Police believe the core of the module consisted of three doctors: Dr Muzammil Ganaie, Dr Umar Nabi, Dr Muzzaffar Rather. A fourth doctor, Dr Adeel Rather, was arrested separately after an AK-56 rifle was recovered from him. His role is under investigation.Delhi blast linkThe blast comes four days after a deadly car explosion in Delhi, which killed at least 13 people. According to CCTV footage, the car in which the Red Fort explosion occurred was being driven by Umar, a member of this module. According to agency sources, Umar fled as he panicked by the successful crackdown of security forces and his anxiety and desperation likely led to the explosion near Red Fort.Also read | Delhi car blast: Forces demolish bomber Umar Nabi’s J&K home with explosives(With agency inputs)
