4 dead, 27 hurt in blast at JK police station while handling explosive samples seized in Faridabad

Srinagar, Nov 15 (PTI) Four people were killed and 27 others injured in an accidental explosion at the Nowgam police station in the outskirts of the city during extraction of samples from a massive cache of explosives recently seized in connection with the 'white-collar' terror module case, officials said on Saturday.

They said the accidental blast happened late Friday night, killing four people and injuring 27 -- mostly policemen and forensic officials.

The blast occurred while personnel were handling the explosive material that had been brought from Haryana's Faridabad, the officials said.

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 said.

Four bodies have been retrieved from the scene of the explosion, they said adding all the deceased were unidentified so far.

The bodies have been taken to Police Control Room Srinagar.

At least 24 police personnel and three civilians were admitted to various hospitals in the city, the officials said.

The massive blast smashed the quiet of the night and damaged the police station building as ambulance and police sirens could be heard. The injured police personnel were rushed to various hospitals in the city.

Small successive explosions prevented immediate rescue operations by the bomb disposal squad.

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.

Their interrogation led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic turned Imam (preacher) from Shopian, who supplied the posters and is believed to have radicalised the doctors using his easy access to the medical community.

The trail ultimately led the Srinagar police to Al Falah University in Faridabad, where they arrested Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Dr Shaheen Sayeed. It was here that the massive cache of chemicals, including ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, and sulphur, was seized.

Investigators believe the entire module was run by a core trio of doctors -- Muzammil Ganaie (arrested), Umar Nabi (driver of the car laden with explosives that exploded near the Red Fort on November 10) and Muzzaffar Rather (absconding) The role of the eighth arrested person, Dr Adeel Rather -- the brother of the absconding Dr Muzzaffar Rather -- from whom an AK-56 rifle was seized, is still under investigation. PTI MIJ SKL NB