Nine Killed in Horrific Explosion at Srinagar’s Nowgam Police Station; Explosives Linked to Faridabad Terror Module

Srinagar : A massive explosion late Friday night at the Nowgam Police Station in Srinagar left at least nine people dead and more than 25 injured. Officials said the blast occurred while officers were extracting samples from a large cache of explosives recently seized in the Faridabad terror module case. CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts show flames and thick smoke engulfing the building moments after the explosion.
According to authorities, the blast killed nine people and injured 27 others — most of them police personnel and forensic experts. Eight bodies have been recovered so far. The injured have been admitted to various hospitals in Srinagar, and efforts to identify the deceased are underway.
Officials confirmed the explosion happened while officers were handling explosive material brought from Haryana’s Faridabad. This cache was part of the 360 kg of explosives recovered from the rented accommodation of arrested physician Dr. Muzammil Ganai. Samples were being taken as part of the ongoing investigation into the terror case. The bodies have been shifted to the Police Control Room in Srinagar.
At least 24 police personnel and three civilians are receiving treatment at different hospitals across the city. The blast caused panic in the area, with ambulance and police sirens piercing the quiet night as rescue teams rushed victims to medical facilities. A series of secondary mini-explosions made it difficult for bomb disposal squads to immediately begin rescue operations. While some of the explosives had been sent to the forensic laboratory, a large portion of the 360 kg stockpile was stored at the station, where the primary case related to the terror module was registered.
The entire operation began after posters threatening the police and security forces surfaced in mid-October in Banpora, Nowgam. Treating this as a serious threat, Srinagar Police registered a case on October 19 and formed a dedicated investigation team. Frame-by-frame analysis of CCTV footage helped identify the first three suspects: Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid — all of whom were arrested. They already had stone-pelting cases against them and were seen putting up the threat posters.
Further interrogation led police to arrest a former paramedic-turned-imam from Shopian, Irfan Ahmad, who provided the posters and allegedly used his access to medical professionals to radicalize them. This trail eventually took investigators to Al-Falah University in Faridabad, where doctors Muzammil Ahmad Ganai and Shaheen Saeed were arrested, and a huge stockpile of chemicals — including ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, and sulfur — was seized.
Investigators believe the entire module was being operated by a core trio of doctors: Muzammil Ganai (arrested), Umar Nabi (driver of the car involved in the November 10 Red Fort-area explosion), and Muzaffar Rather (absconding). The role of absconding Dr. Muzaffar Rather’s brother, Dr. Aadil Rather, remains under scrutiny. An AK-56 rifle was recovered from Aadil Rather, who is already under arrest.
The investigation continues as security agencies work to determine the full scale of the terror network and any links between the Srinagar blast and the Red Fort incident. Meanwhile, security in the Kashmir Valley has been tightened following the deadly explosion.