Faridabad Connection Emerges in Nowgam Accidental Blast That Killed 9

At least nine people were killed and several others injured after an accidental explosion ripped through the Nowgam police station on the outskirts of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, late Friday, officials said.

Most of the victims were police personnel and forensic experts who were handling seized explosive material at the time of the blast, according to officials quoted by PTI. Twenty-four police personnel and three civilians were admitted to various hospitals in Srinagar. The bodies of the deceased were later shifted to the Police Control Room.

Officials said seven bodies were recovered immediately, while the remains of two others were found later. Identification of the deceased is still underway.

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Faridabad Link: Explosion Occurred During Handling of Seized Explosives

The blast occurred while officers were extracting samples from a large cache of explosives recovered in Faridabad, Haryana, during the busting of a “white-collar” terror module, officials said.

The seized materials — 360 kg of explosives, including ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sulphur — had been recovered from the rented home of arrested doctor Muzammil Ganaie. Part of the haul had been stored at the Forensic Lab, while most of it was kept at the Nowgam police station, where a primary case in the module was registered.

The explosion severely damaged the police station building. Rescue efforts were delayed because of small successive blasts, PTI reported.

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Posters Threatening Police Found Weeks Earlier

The incident comes weeks after posters threatening police and security personnel were discovered on walls in Bunpora, Nowgam, in mid-October. Srinagar Police had registered a case and identified three suspects — Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil (now arrested), Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid — seen on CCTV pasting the posters. All three had previous cases of stone-pelting against them.

Their interrogation led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic-turned-Imam from Shopian who allegedly supplied the posters and radicalised doctors using his access to medical circles.

Investigators eventually tracked the trail to Al-Falah University in Faridabad, where doctors Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Shaheen Sayeed were arrested. Police recovered a large cache of chemicals from them.

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Connection to Delhi Red Fort Blast

The terror module has also been linked to the Red Fort car explosion in Delhi, which killed 11 people. The suspected driver, Dr Umar un-Nabi, was associated with Al-Falah University.

Following the Delhi blast, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) joined the probe. At least four doctors from the university have since been named or arrested. Three doctors detained on Friday — Dr Mushtakeem, Dr Mohammad, and Dr Rehaan Hayat — were believed to be in frequent contact with Umar un-Nabi.

Delhi Police officials say scrutiny of Al-Falah University has intensified as multiple individuals linked to the terror module have emerged from its faculty and student networks.