New CCTV footage captures the deadly Nowgam Police Station blast during FSL sampling. [Photo: X/Aditya Raj Kaul]
New CCTV footage has surfaced showing the exact moment the deadly explosion ripped through the Nowgam Police Station in Srinagar. The blast happened late Friday (Nov 14) during a forensic examination of a massive cache of seized explosives. The explosion killed nine people and injured 29 others. Authorities called it an “accident” and ruled out any foul play.
The new footage adds a crucial layer to the ongoing investigation. It shows a flash of light, followed by a powerful shockwave that damaged the police station building and nearby structures.
The explosion took place around 11:20 pm while a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team was extracting samples from explosives stored at the police station. The seized material mainly included ammonium nitrate recovered from Faridabad after a terror module run by a “white-collar” network of doctors was busted.
DG J&K Police Nalin Prabhat confirmed the details in a late-night press briefing. He said the explosives were moved to Srinagar for analysis and that the examination had been underway for two days.
He described the blast as an “accidental explosion” and added that “any other speculation into the cause of the incident is unnecessary.” The police station building suffered heavy damage, and the shockwave broke windows and damaged structures in the neighbourhood.
The blast was so powerful that residents heard it up to five kilometres away. It caused widespread damage to homes, vehicles, and shops within a one-kilometre radius. Locals reported that the ground shook and window panes shattered instantly.
Emergency teams rushed to the site within minutes. Senior officials from the police, CRPF and district administration reached the area early the next morning to supervise rescue and assessment work.
Authorities had earlier seized around 2,900 kg of explosives from a group of doctors operating a terror network in Faridabad. The network reportedly used ammonium nitrate sourced from Nuh, Haryana. The arrests of Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie and Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather led investigators to the cache. Both are linked to Al Falah University in Faridabad.
Hours before the Nowgam blast, authorities demolished the home of another suspect — Dr Umar Un Nabi. He was the driver of the Hyundai i20 that exploded near Delhi’s Red Fort, killing 13 people. Investigators believe he played a key role in procuring fertiliser for the explosive materials.
As the probe deepened, investigators discovered that the three doctors used a Swiss encrypted messaging app called Threema for communication. This has raised fresh concerns about the use of foreign encrypted platforms by emerging terror modules.
Another suspect, Dr Shaheen Shahid, was allegedly preparing to flee the country and was in the process of applying for a visa before her arrest. This new angle has pushed agencies to look into possible foreign links, cross-border assistance, and digital communication routes used by the group.
