The explosion struck late Friday at the Nowgam police station, ripping through the building and nearby houses as officers and forensic experts handled evidence from a car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort earlier in the week. Police said the material had been seized in Faridabad and transported to Kashmir as part of a wider investigation into a suspected militant cell.

Forensic Work Turns Into Disaster

Police said the cache exploded while a team was taking samples for forensic analysis, with the region’s director-general calling it an “accidental explosion” and rejecting alternative theories.

The blast killed six police and forensic personnel, two civil administrators and one civilian, and wounded 32, some critically, while the detonation leveled much of the Nowgam station, ignited vehicles, shattered nearby homes, and sent debris and body parts 100–300 feet away as a roar echoed miles across Srinagar.

Blast Linked To Delhi Car Bomb Probe

The explosives had been recovered in Faridabad after a car bomb near Delhi’s Red Fort killed at least eight and injured around 20, with some reports later placing the toll at 13, prompting authorities to dismantle what they called a militant cell and make seven arrests, including two doctors.

The seized material was moved to Nowgam and stored “in an open area” during an investigation that began last month, and a tailor, Mohammad Shafi Parray—summoned to stitch sample bags—was among the dead, triggering a small protest demanding justice.

Longstanding Fault Lines In Kashmir

The accident unfolded amid a conflict in which militants have fought Indian rule since 1989, and in which India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir but claim it in full, shaping decades of armed confrontation.

Indian officials describe the insurgency as Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, a charge Islamabad denies, while many Kashmiris frame the struggle as one of self-determination, keeping tensions high even as officials insist this blast stemmed from mishandled evidence rather than an attack.