Katra (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], November 15 : Jammu and Kashmir Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Sunil Sharma offered condolences to the families of those who have lost their loved ones in the Nowgam Police Station blast, ensuring that such "incidents are not repeated in future."
Speaking to reporters, J&K LoP said, "Yesterday at 11.20 pm, this incident occurred. Initially, it appeared to be an attack. But then police officials, and today the DGP, clarified that the blast occurred during the investigation, linked to a seizure of 2900 kg of explosive materials, chemicals, and reagents recovered from Faridabad. As the Nowgam police station was investigating the case, the explosives were at that spot. One magistrate, officials of the state investigating agency, crime branch officials, and a civil tailor were at the spot."
"Only those who were investigating the materials know what actually happened. We express our deepest condolences to the deceased. We will try to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future," he added.
The Nowgam blast, which occurred during the handling of an explosive device inside the police station premises, is being probed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
The Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP), Nalin Prabhat, stressed on Saturday that any speculation about the incident was unnecessary, as preliminary findings pointed to an inadvertent blast during a mandated forensic procedure.
An accidental explosion inside the Nowgam Police Station late Friday night left nine personnel dead and 32 others injured and caused extensive damage to the nearby building. The injured were admitted to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS) in Srinagar for further treatment.
The DGP informed that nine individuals who lost their lives included one officer from the State Investigation Agency (SIA), three FSL personnel, two crime-scene photographers, two revenue officials who were assisting the Magistrate's team, and a tailor associated with the operation.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday said that the cause of the incident would be investigated in a massive accidental explosion that ripped through the Nowgam Police Station.
The MHA attributed the highly unstable nature of the explosive material recovered during an ongoing terror module probe that was linked to the Delhi Red Fort blast that occurred on November 10, which killed 12 people.