'Our mistake': Ex-J&K CM Farooq Abdullah says mishandling triggered Nowgam blast; calls for thorough probe

NEW DELHI: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday blamed the Nowgam police station blast on improper handling of explosive material, saying it was “our mistake” and should have involved trained experts.

He also expressed frustration over the growing suspicion faced by Kashmiri residents across the country following the car blast near Red Fort.The explosion occurred late Friday night while an explosive device was being handled inside the police station premises. Nine people were killed and 32 others were injured, who were later admitted to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar.Speaking to ANI, Abdullah demanded a thorough and independent probe.

"This is our mistake, those who understand this explosive better, we should have talked to them first about how to deal with it instead of trying to handle it ourselves, you saw the result, nine people lost their lives. So much damage was caused to the houses there," he said."We haven't yet come out of the crisis in Delhi where fingers are being pointed at every Kashmiri. When will that day come when they will accept that we are Indians and we are not responsible for this, ask those who are responsible why these doctors had to take this path? What was the reason?" he remarked.

Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat said speculation around the incident was unnecessary, noting that initial findings suggested an inadvertent explosion during a mandated forensic procedure.Abdullah said the circumstances surrounding the blast, including the alleged involvement of individuals with medical backgrounds, required deeper scrutiny. "There is a need for a thorough investigation and study of this," he said, urging accountability to prevent similar incidents.According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the explosion was triggered by the highly unstable nature of material recovered during a probe into a terror module linked to the November 10 Delhi Red Fort blast, which killed 12 people.