Explosion inside Nowgam police station was accidental: Union home ministry

The samples of explosives stored inside the police Nowgam station were those recovered from the Faridabad module of doctors involved in the Red Fort blast case

The Union home ministry on Saturday said that the explosion inside a police station in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was accidental and happened while samples were being collected for forensic examination.

The explosion on Friday night left at least 9 dead, 27 injured and the police station premises completely damaged. (HT sourced photo)

The samples of explosives stored inside the police Nowgam station were those recovered from the Faridabad module of doctors involved in the Red Fort blast case. Sampling process was underway at the police station for the last two days. The explosives were transported from Faridabad. Chemical and explosives stored in an open area within police station.

The explosion on Friday night left at least 9 dead, 27 injured and the police station premises completely damaged.

Addressing media persons on Saturday, Prashant Lokhande, joint secretary MHA, said, “The Nowgam Police recently cracked the case of a terror module based on leads taken from a poster. During investigation of FIR No 162/2025 of PS Nowgam, a huge cache of explosive substances and chemicals were also recovered. The recovery was kept securely in the open area of the police station. All the agencies involved in the investigation are working together in a coordinated and scientific way.”

The officer said at 11:30pm on Friday, a massive explosion took place inside the police station Nowgam in Jammu and Kashmir, which he described was “accidental.”

“As part of standard and prescribed procedure, the recovered chemical and explosives samples were being forwarded for further forensic and chemical examination. Because of voluminous recovery, the said process was continually attended for about last 2 days by following the standard operating procedure. Owing to the unstable and sensitive nature of recovery, it was being handled carefully under expert supervision. However, during the process, an accidental explosion took place at about 11:20pm on Friday, he said.

In the explosion, 9 people have lost their lives whereas 27 police personnel, two revenue officials and three civilians have received injuries.

“The building of the police station has been severely damaged, besides those, other buildings surrounding the police station have also been damaged. The cause of the accident is being investigated. However, any other speculation into the cause of this incident is unnecessary,” he said.