Nowgam Blast Raises Big Questions: Accident or a Grave Security Lapse?

An outfit named “Peoples Anti-Fascist Front”, a proxy of Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad, has claimed responsibility, which has been denied by the J&K police

(photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

LolWhile India was still recovering from the loss of life and shock caused by the massive blasts that took place near Red Fort on 10 November evening, the blasts at Police Station Nowgam in Srinagar on the night of 14-15 November have created further ripples.

Coming within four days of each other, the twin blasts have caused loss of almost two dozen lives and severe injury to about 40 people. The police station Nowgam has been flattened in the process besides causing nine deaths and several injuries.

An outfit named “Peoples Anti-Fascist Front”, a proxy of Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad, has claimed responsibility, which has been denied by the J&K police. They have denied any terror angle and have attributed the explosion to accident that occurred when nearly 350 Kg of Ammonium Nitrate—recently confiscated from Faridabad and kept inside the police station compound—was in the process of being sealed and secured in the presence of magistrate.

The DG J&K Police further stated that “Owing to unstable and sensitive nature of the recovery it was being handled with utmost caution. However, during the same, an accidental explosion took place at about 11:20 PM on Friday the 14 November. Any other speculation into the case is unnecessary”.

The statement that the explosive was being handled with utmost care yet it caused an accidental detonation, is in itself contradictory. 

Doubts Over the ‘Accident’ Theory

The haste with which the authorities have termed it accidental explosion generates several apprehensions because the Ammonium nitrate based mixtures don’t simply detonate from casual mishandling. A strong initiating source like a detonator is essential for them to explode.

Only in extremely rare conditions it can explode on being exposed to intense heat, huge fire and shock waves, or contamination. However, there are no such reports of any exposure to any of these accentuating factors at the PS Nowgam.

The narrative invites further scrutiny because the standard procedure prescribed for confiscation of explosives, bombs or IEDs is that Bomb squads is required to neutralise these for all possible triggers, including detonators, before the police seize it. It therefore is apparent that the standard bomb neutralisation procedures were not followed in this case. If the proper evidence-handling protocols were followed—as they should have been ordinarily followed—in a case like Faridabad, such initiating components should not have been present when the material was in police custody.

The narrative of accidental explosion at PS Nowgam therefore attains surreal proportions. It is beyond belief that supposedly well-trained police personnel and others present at the police station would handle the explosive substance in such an amateurish manner.

Questionable Decision to Transport Explosives

It is surprising that the concerned authorities took a decision to transport the confiscated Ammonium Nitrate all the way from Faridabad to Srinagar. There are several question that beg answer.

Firstly, what prevented them from requisitioning the services of a local magistrate at Faridabad to seal and store the confiscated Ammonium Nitrate and other explosive material at Faridabad itself? There certainly is no judicial constraint in doing so.

Secondly, if the J&K Police needed samples for forensic examination, wouldn’t a few grams have sufficed? This would have obviated the potentially dangerous decision to transport the entire explosive material all the way to Srinagar.

Thirdly, what prevented the authorities from using the facility of Forensic Labs available nearby? The fact is that there are four forensic labs of Haryana Government available in near vicinity at Bhondsi in Gurugram, Sunaria in Rohatak, Moginad in Panchkula, Ambala and one at Police Training Centre at Madhuban in Karnal. Similar labs are also available close by at Delhi.

Old Lessons Ignored

In the 90s, the Indian Army used to display captured IEDs in FOD in Badami Bagh Cantt. Reportedly, this procedure was stopped after a senior Army Intelligence officer lost his life in 1994 when an IED went off during his visit there. The Indian Army has since then adopted the procedure to destroy the IEDs in situ. 

Ferrying such IEDs from Delhi to Srinagar was extremely dangerous. They failed to realise the hazards of carrying these material all the way to Srinagar. What if the material had exploded en-route to Srinagar? 

The order to shift confiscated explosive material from Faridabad to Srinagar, was amateurish and a monumental procedural failure. Police station Nowgam is in the middle of a dense urban cluster and one fails to understand why 300 kgs of ammonium nitrate would be transported and stored there.

Therefore, whosoever thought of transferring the explosive to Srinagar is culpable of loss of life of police and other personnel at PS Nowgam. This was avoidable. Further, it is a display of absolute incompetence if a police having decades of experience in tackling militancy handles explosives in such amateurish manner. The other possibility is that there was a deliberate sabotage or in other words, a terror attack as claimed by PAFF.

A Full Inquiry Is Crucial

The circumstances discussed above raise genuine questions about the cause of the explosion at PS Nowgam. A thorough enquiry is called for to fix procedural lapses and other aspects of omission and commission. The authorities should have been well advised to refrain from discarding any possibility including that of terror angle before investigation has even started.

Both accidental loss or terror angle point towards major security lapse. A lot of crucial evidence has been lost in the process besides loss of precious lives.

Between Delhi blast and Nowgam “accidental explosion’ more than 20 lives have been lost. A proper enquiry must bring out all aspects to avert any such future tragedy. Those responsible for the tragedy must be taken to task instead of resorting to the narrative of “we averted a larger terror attack” to satisfy everyone and console the families that have lost their loved ones.

(Sanjiv Krishan Sood (Retd) has served as the Additional Director General of the BSF and was also with the SPG. He tweets @sood_2. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)