Home Ministry says Nowgam Police Station blast was ‘accidental’ — here’s what really happened

The explosion killed nine people and injured 32 others including 27 police personnel.

Prashant Lokhande, Joint Secretary (J&K Division), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), said, "Yesterday, at around 11:20 pm, an unfortunate accidental explosion took place inside the Nowgam Police Station. During the investigation of a terror module, a huge cache of explosive substances and chemicals had been recovered and kept securely in an open area of the police station.

"As part of the standard procedure, these materials were being processed and forwarded for forensic examination. Due to their unstable and sensitive nature, they were being handled with utmost care. However, during the process, an accidental explosion occurred. In this incident, nine people lost their lives, while 27 police personnel, two revenue officials, and three civilians sustained injuries. The injured were immediately rushed for medical care."

"The police station building suffered severe damage, along with some surrounding structures. The cause of the accident is being investigated, and any other speculation is unnecessary. The government stands in solidarity with the families of the deceased in this hour of grief," he added.

The Nowgam police station had recently been at the centre of a breakthrough case involving posters circulated by the Pakistan-backed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

These posters, put up across the Nowgam area, threatened large-scale attacks on security forces and non-locals.

Investigations into these posters had exposed a radicalised network of highly qualified professionals and medical students, leading to the arrest of several individuals—now infamously referred to as “terror doctors.”

Among the first to be arrested was Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather, who was identified from CCTV footage placing the posters.

Rather, who previously worked at the Government Medical College in Anantnag and later moved to Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, was found storing an assault rifle in his college locker.

His arrest on October 27 opened the lid on a much larger, deeply embedded terror ecosystem.

Terror network spanned multiple states

Rather’s interrogation led police to Dr Muzammil Shakeel, associated with Al-Falah Medical College in Faridabad, Haryana.

A joint team of J&K and Haryana Police searched locations linked to Shakeel and recovered nearly 3,000 kilograms of Ammonium Nitrate, a key ingredient used in large-scale explosives.

Shakeel’s arrest resulted in yet another breakthrough—the detention of Dr Shaheen Saeed, also from the same medical college.

Authorities believe the group’s operations extended across several Indian states, connecting radicalised professionals with foreign handlers in Pakistan and beyond.