 "Representational image. Reuters")
As many as nine people died and 29 were left severely injured after a blast ripped through a police station in Jammu and Kashmir’s Nowgam on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.
The explosion was triggered while the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), the Tehsildar, and police personnel were handling and checking explosive materials kept inside the premises, which were earlier seized from Faridabad in connection with a “white-collar” terror module case.
The material, part of the 360 kilograms of explosives recovered from the rented residence of arrested doctor Muzammil Ganaie, was being sampled as part of the ongoing investigation, the officials have told PTI.
Visuals show extent of damage
Several videos of the explosion’s aftermath have emerged, with one CCTV clip from a nearby house capturing the exact moment of the blast, which obliterated the police station.
The footage shows a sudden, intense flash as the explosion tore through the station, followed by flames rising into the air, visually confirming the immense force of the blast that was heard several kilometres away.
The house’s windows and doors can be seen shattering, and locals reported feeling as though a massive earthquake had struck when the explosion occurred.
Where did the explosives come from?
While some of the explosives recovered have been kept at Forensic Lab of police, the major part of the 360 kg of explosives was stored at the police station, where the primary case for the terror module was registered.
The entire conspiracy was unravelled after the posters threatening police and security forces appeared on walls in Bunpora, Nowgam, in mid-October.
Treating the incident as a serious threat, the Srinagar police registered a case on October 19 and formed a dedicated team.
Meticulous, frame-by-frame analysis of CCTV footage led investigators to identify the first three suspects – arrested Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid. These three had cases of stone pelting registered against them, and they were seen pasting the posters.
With inputs from PTI