Barricades were placed in several areas during the day to prevent the movement of people
Nine people died while at least thirty others were injured in the blast at the police station late last night
The investigation that led the police to reach out to the Kashmiri doctor, Umer-un-Nabi, who drove the explosive-laden car that resulted in the death of thirteen people in the Delhi blast, started from the Nowgam neighbourhood of the Srinagar district. The area has seen police raid houses last month, before people went through a terrible night yesterday, after the explosive substance recovered as part of the Delhi blast case went off at the local police station, leaving nine people dead and at least thirty others injured.
Last month, after police came across posters of militants issuing threats to the security personnel pasted in Nowgam, they began raids in the area, and the investigation finally led the security forces to the Delhi blast accused, Dr Umer. However, late last night, the residents recalled that their houses shook after a massive explosion ripped through the police station, which also left a few houses damaged.
Abdul Aziz Wani, who lives in one of the colonies near the Nowgam police station, says that he felt the impact of the blast at his house, which is several meters away from the incident site. “The blast was so powerful that our houses shook from the impact. We live at least 800 meters away from the blast site, but we felt it there,” he says.
Earlier on 19 October, police registered the case after the posters of two militant outfits were found pasted at different locations in the Bunpora area of Nowgam, following which an FIR was registered under several sections of the UAPA Act, BNS, Explosive Substance Act, and Arms Act. On the day of the Delhi blast, police said that they had recovered 2,900 kg of explosive substance and arrested seven people, including those living in Nowgam.
According to police, besides doctor Muzamil Shakeel of the Koil area of Pulwama, they also arrested Arif Nisar Dar, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar, all residents of the Nowgam area of Srinagar, in the explosive recovery case. The other people who were arrested were identified as Molvi Irfan Ahmad of Shopian, Zameer Ahmad Ahanger of Wakura, Ganderbal, and Dr Adeel of Kulgam.
Most of the residents who learnt about the Delhi blast on the news say that the intervening night of Friday and Saturday was a dreaded one for them. Several residents said that they stayed awake after coming across the incident of the police station getting engulfed in flames, and the heavy movement of security forces, frantic activity of fire tenders, and the wails of ambulances were witnessed in the area through the night. Some residents described the incident like an earthquake, while some felt initially that it was a plane crash before they came to know about the explosion in the police station.
Mehraj-ud-Din Najar, a local resident, says that the scene of the fire tender and a large number of police personnel stationed in the area continued from late last night when the blast occurred. “ We have never come across a scene like this,” says Najar, as he rued the loss of a neighbourhood tailor, who was among nine people who have died in the blast.
