Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday ruled out any terrorist involvement in the Nowgam Police Station blast, stating that preliminary inputs indicate it was an accident that occurred during sample-collection work.
He said a probe has been ordered to ascertain the exact sequence of events. The LG also lauded Jammu and Kashmir Police for thwarting many terrorist incidents in the country by dismantling a pan-India ‘white-collar’ terror module, and paid tributes to the victims of the accidental blast inside Nowgam police station.
Speaking to reporters, LG Sinha said, “There is no terrorist angle in the Nowgam incident. Samples were being taken when this accident happened. I have ordered an inquiry into the matter.”
Attending a ‘Nagar Kirtan’ to commemorate the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur at a gurdwara here, the lieutenant governor (L-G) said an unfortunate incident took place at the Nowgam police station in Srinagar when a forensics team was collecting samples of the explosive material recovered from terrorists involved in the November 10 blast near the Red Fort in Delhi which killed 13 people.
“The blast happened during collection of samples from the seized material at 11.20 pm (Friday), resulting in the loss of many precious lives, including police personnel and revenue officials. I pay my tributes to them,” Sinha said, adding that the sampling process was going on at the police station for the past two days.
By exposing the pan-India terror network, Jammu and Kashmir Police has thwarted many terror incidents in the country and achieved a big success in its fight against terrorism, the L-G asserted. According to investigators, the terror network came to light during a probe into Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)posters threatening police and security forces, which appeared on walls in the Bunpora locality of Nowgam on October 19.
Meanwhile, the area surrounding Nowgam Police Station in Srinagar has been sealed off by Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) teams and security forces as an investigation is underway following a blast that killed nine people and injured 32 others, officials said on Sunday.Security personnel and forensic experts are conducting on-site examinations to collect evidence.
On Friday, an accidental explosion inside the Nowgam Police Station late at 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 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.
Follow us
