At least nine people were killed and 32 injured on Friday evening in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir after an accidental explosion that occurred while officers were inspecting bomb-making materials seized during an investigation. Police said the inspection involved batches recently discovered as part of a probe into a terrorist network.
News of the discovery had been announced on Monday—the same day a car exploded in New Delhi, killing at least eight people. Indian authorities classified the blast in the capital as a terrorist attack, and police said they are trying to determine whether there is any link between that explosion and the network connected to the confiscated weapons.
The powerful blast on Friday destroyed the police station in Nowgam, in Srinagar—the largest city in Kashmir. Police said both officers and forensic specialists were among the dead and injured.
More than 6,000 pounds of explosive-making materials and other weapons were seized in Faridabad, a suburb of New Delhi, as part of an investigation led by the Jammu and Kashmir police—a region whose status remains contested by India and Pakistan.
Authorities say the seized arsenal is linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based group long accused of carrying out attacks inside India. Regional police reported that following up on intelligence had led them to communities near New Delhi, where around six suspects—including medical professionals—were detained. Four of them were stripped of their medical licenses on Friday.
On Monday, Kashmir police said they had uncovered a “white-collar terrorist ecosystem” involving teachers, doctors and students who maintained contact with “foreign handlers.” About six people were detained, including doctors from Al-Falah University in Faridabad; police said the cell has been dismantled.
In a separate statement, the university stressed that while two detained doctors were indeed employed at Al-Falah, “the university has no connection to these individuals” beyond their work contracts. The administration added that it is fully cooperating with the investigation.
Authorities have identified the driver of the car that exploded in New Delhi: he was Umar Nabi, a doctor from Pulwama in Kashmir who had previously worked at Al-Falah. His identity was confirmed after DNA recovered from the vehicle was matched with samples from his relatives. Security forces later demolished Dr. Nabi’s house after asking his family to leave the building.
Kashmir police claim that Dr. Nabi was likely connected to this “white-collar” network. Officials in New Delhi declined to comment on any potential links.
The seized weapons, police officials said, were transported to Srinagar. At a news conference, Jammu and Kashmir police chief Nalin Prabhat stated that the blast was an “accidental explosion” during the forensic examination of the materials. “Any other speculation about the cause of this incident is unfounded,” Prabhat stressed.
The explosion caused extensive damage to the station building and nearby structures, and it destroyed several vehicles parked in the adjoining lot.
Videos published on social media show wounded police officers receiving treatment in a hospital. Eyewitness Shahid Nazir said he saw several injured people being treated in the hospital across the street from the blast site.
Mohammad Saleem Bhat, a resident of the surrounding area, said: “The blast was so powerful that it shattered windowpanes in many nearby houses.”