Srinagar: The massive blast that ripped through the Nowgam police station, killing nine persons and injuring several others, on Friday night may have occurred due to the heat generated from excessive lighting.
Though forensics experts were examining the explosives seized from the Faridabad terror module at the time of the blast, senior officials have ruled out any direct terror angle behind the mishap.
The explosion occurred around 11.20 pm while a team was extracting samples from the final boxes of the seized explosives.
Teams of experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory and the elite National Security Guard visited the police station and collected samples.
They believe that the last few boxes contained a liquid substance — likely a mixture of Acetophenone, Hydrogen Peroxide, and Sulphuric Acid. In order to examine the liquid substance closely, the lighting arrangement was scaled up.
While Acetophenone is a common industrial chemical, it is a crucial precursor for creating Acetone Peroxide, a dangerous and sensitive improvised explosive. The combination of the chemicals, coupled with external heat from the intensified lighting, or potential fumes from the Sulphuric Acid, may have caused the premature detonation, officials believe.
Both the director general of Jammu and Kashmir Police Nalin Prabhat and joint secretary (Kashmir) Prashant Lokhande had issued identical statements on Saturday, firmly dismissing speculation of a terror attack.
“Due to the unstable and sensitive nature of the recovery, the sampling process, the handling was being done with extreme caution, with utmost caution by the FSL team,” Prabhat and Lokhande had said.
“However, unfortunately, during this course, last night around 11.20 pm, an accidental explosion took place,” they had said in statements in Srinagar and New Delhi.
Nearly 360 kg of explosives — including Ammonium Nitrate, Potassium Nitrate and Sulphur — were moved to the Nowgam police station from Faridabad. They were being tested there for the last two days. The materials were transported to the Nowgam police station because it was the registration point for the original case.
Among those killed was Mohammad Shafi Parray (47), a popular local tailor and the sole breadwinner for his family. Many politicians visited his house and assured assistance to his family.
SIA inspector Israr Ahmad Shah, known as a soft-spoken and helpful officer, survived by his wife, two young children and elderly parents in Kupwara district, was also among those killed.
The whole matter started after the Nowgam police, led by SSP (Srinagar) Sundeep Chakravarthy, began an investigation into the pasting of posters that threatened police and security forces on walls in Bunpora, Nowgam, in mid-October.
CCTV footage analysis led to the arrest of the first three suspects — Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid. Their interrogation led to the arrest of Maulvi Irfan Ahmad, a former paramedic turned Imam, who allegedly supplied the posters and radicalised the doctors who were later nabbed.
