Srinagar, Kashmir: A devastating explosion at the Nowgam police station in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, has resulted in nine fatalities and injuries to 29 others. The blast occurred late Friday night, November 14, 2025, while a team of police and forensic experts were examining confiscated explosives.
According to authorities, the explosives were part of a large cache, approximately 360 kg, recovered during an investigation into a "white-collar" terror module in Faridabad, Haryana. The seized materials, including ammonium nitrate, had been transported to the Nowgam police station as part of the ongoing investigation into a recent car bomb explosion in Delhi.
Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Nalin Prabhat stated that the explosion was accidental, dismissing any speculation of terrorist involvement. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) echoed this assessment, attributing the incident to the unstable nature of the seized materials. Joint Secretary of the MHA, Prashant Lokhande, confirmed that the explosion took place around 11:20 pm.
The blast, which was heard across Srinagar, caused extensive damage to the police station and surrounding buildings. The explosion also ignited a fire that engulfed the building and several vehicles parked within the premises. Fire tenders and ambulances were immediately dispatched to the scene to extinguish the fire and transport the injured to nearby hospitals.
Among the deceased are three members of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), two officials from the Revenue Department (including a Naib Tehsildar), two police photographers, one member of the State Investigation Agency, and a tailor. The injured include 27 police personnel, two revenue officials, and three civilians from the surrounding area.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has ordered an inquiry into the incident. Authorities transported the explosives from Faridabad to the Nowgam police station in airtight containers over the past two days. The sampling process was being conducted with extreme caution by the FSL team due to the sensitive nature of the recovered materials.
This incident follows a deadly car explosion in New Delhi earlier in the week, which claimed the lives of eight people near the Red Fort. Indian officials had labeled that event a terror attack carried out by "anti-national forces". The police in Kashmir had also announced the dismantling of a suspected militant cell operating from the disputed region to the outskirts of New Delhi, arresting seven people and seizing weapons and bomb-making materials in Faridabad. One of the suspects, a Kashmiri doctor working in Faridabad, was allegedly driving the car that exploded in Delhi.
