Pall Of Gloom At Kashmiri Tailor’s House As Police Station Blast Leaves Nine Dead

Within a few minutes of the blast that ripped through the police station in the Nowgam area of Srinagar, screams were heard at the house of Mohammad Shafi Parray, a tailor, who is among the nine people who are dead after the explosive substance that the police had recovered as part of the seizures made in the Delhi blast case went off late last night.

Shafi, a father of three children, is among those dead, while at least thirty others have been injured in the blast that saw damage to several houses. His cousin, Mohammad Ismail Sheikh, says that the body was identified by his son. The family had started getting worried as soon as the blast was heard, and as the tailor’s phone remained switched off, they began to move to the police station, where he was taken for sewing work to prepare cloth bags to store the ammunition.

Near the police station area, they were devastated as they came across scenes of fire tenders and ambulances stationed in the area and learnt that Shafi was among those who died in the incident.

“As soon as we learnt about the death, we started searches at several hospitals, before the body was identified by his son at the police control room,” says Ismail.

According to local residents, the blast occurred around 11.30 pm, and the impact was so heavy that the sound was heard several kilometers away from the incident site. At their family home in Nowgam, Shafi’s wife and other relatives remained inconsolable. Following the incident, the area was sealed off with barbed wire, and the metal barricades were set up at several places.

Police have, however, described the blast as accidental in nature. Addressing a press conference, J&K Director General of Police (DGP), Nalin Prabhat, said that nine people have lost their lives in the incident. The DGP said that those killed included three personnel of the FSL team, two photographers, and two revenue officials. He said that the revenue officials were part of the magistrates' team, confirming also the death of the tailor, who he said was associated with the officials. Due to the blast, Prabhat said that the twenty-seven police personnel and three other civilians who lived in the adjacent area were also injured.

“The injured were immediately evacuated to the nearest hospital, where they are being treated. The building of the police station has been severely damaged, and even the adjacent buildings have suffered, and they have also been affected. The extent of this damage is being ascertained,” he says.

Mohammad Akbar, Shafi’s relative, says that he is survived by three children and was called by the police during the day as well as at night for the sewing work. “We never thought he would leave us so soon,” says Akbar.

Earlier, on the day of the Delhi blast, police said that they had recovered 2,900 kg of IED-making material and arms and ammunition, and arrested seven people, including a doctor, during an investigation in connection with the pasting of posters by militant groups near the Nowgam police station. The police had said that through these posters, security officials were threatened. Police said that the recovery of the IED material included “chemicals, reagents, inflammable material, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote control, timers, and metal sheets".

According to police, the recovery of the explosive substance was made at Faridabad in Haryana, and it was being transported and kept in the open area of the police station Nowgam, and the samples had to be examined for forensic purposes.