Cause of blast being investigated: MHA

New Delhi, Nov 15: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday said that the cause of the blast inside the Nowgam Police Station was being investigated.

In a press briefing, Joint Secretary in the MHA, Prashant Lokhande, said that the cause of the incident was being investigated, and any other speculation into the cause of the blast was unnecessary.

He said that nine persons had been killed and 32 others injured in a “massive”, unfortunate, accidental explosion at the Nowgam Police Station.

Lokhande said a huge cache of explosive substances and chemicals was recovered during a probe into a terror module and kept securely in an open area in the premises of Nowgam Police Station, located on the outskirts of Srinagar.

“As a part of the standard and prescribed procedure, the recovered explosives were forwarded to forensic and chemical examination,” he said. “Due to the voluminous nature of the recovery, the procedure was being continuously carried out for the last two days.”

The MHA Joint Secretary said that owing to the “unstable and sensitive” nature of the recovery, it was being handled very carefully under expert supervision.

“However, during the process, an accidental explosion took place at about 11:20 pm on the night of November 14. In this unfortunate accidental incident, nine people have lost their lives, whereas 27 police personnel, two revenue officials, and three civilians have received injuries,” he said. “The police station has suffered severe damage, while some other buildings were also affected.”

Lokhande said that the cause of the accident is being investigated. “However, any other speculation into the cause of this incident is unnecessary,” he said.