Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday raised serious questions over the storage and handling of explosives at the Nowgam Police Station, where an accidental blast recently claimed nine lives and left many injured.
Expressing profound grief over the tragedy, Omar Abdullah said “many precious lives have been lost,” including officials from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), civil departments, police and civilians who had no direct role in handling explosives. Among the victims, he said, were a poor tailor, a photographer and others who happened to be at the police station at the time of the blast.
The Chief Minister, according to news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS), said a formal probe has already been initiated into the incident and stressed that it must thoroughly examine why such a large quantity of explosives was stored at the police station, the conditions in which they were kept and how they were being handled.
“The probe will look into why such a large quantity of explosives was present there, under what conditions they were kept and how they were being handled. For now, I only want to express my sympathy and respect for the victims. But we also need answers to all these questions,” he said.
Omar Abdullah said he visited the hospital to inquire about the condition of the injured and meet their families. He appreciated the quick response of the medical and rescue teams following the blast.
“We saw how quickly the ambulance was sent after the explosion. The medical teams immediately reached the injured. Even today, many are undergoing treatment in hospital. Four are in the ICU. We pray that they recover soon and return home,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that since the explosion took place inside a police station, he expected the Home Department to extend financial support for rebuilding and repair works.
“Funds are available with the Home Department. From that fund, the affected house owners should also be given some money so that the damage to their houses can be repaired,” he said.
Omar Abdullah also referred to the recent North Zone Chief Ministers’ Conference, where he said he had raised the issue of prejudiced treatment towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly Kashmiri Muslims.
“I requested all members of the Union Government, the Home Secretary, the Chief Ministers of the North Zone, the Governor and the LG not to view the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially Kashmiri Muslims, with suspicion,” he said.
Calling for strict action against those responsible for such incidents, he cautioned against targeting innocent people.
“Those who carried out such acts and those directly involved should be punished severely. But innocent people who have nothing to do with violence should not be dragged into this circle,” he said, expressing hope that this approach would be followed in letter and spirit.
Referring to earlier provisions, Omar Abdullah said that in the past, under the SRO scheme, those affected by such incidents were given a government job as part of compensation. He urged officials to explore whether similar support could be extended to the family of the deceased tailor and other affected families.
“I request our government officers to look into the tailor’s family’s case and process it at the earliest,” he said, reiterating his solidarity with all families devastated by the Nowgam Police Station blast. (KINS)
