Srinagar: At least nine people, mostly policemen, were killed and 29 others injured in a massive explosion at Nowgam police station on the outskirts of Srinagar late Friday night.

The blast occurred while police personnel were handling explosive material recently seized from Faridabad in the Indian state of Haryana. Several injured personnel are reported to be in critical condition.

Officials said most of the deceased were policemen and forensic team members, along with a Naib Tehsildar and a local tailor. The intensity of the explosion was such that body parts were found 100-200 meters away from the station. The building and several vehicles were engulfed in fire, while small successive explosions hampered immediate rescue operations.

Indian authorities had earlier claimed recovery of 360 kilograms of explosives from a rented house in Faridabad, allegedly linked to Kashmiri doctor Muzammil Ganaie, described by them as part of a ‘white-collar militant module.’ Portions of the explosives were brought to Nowgam police station for forensic sampling as part of the Delhi Red Fort car bomb investigation.

Independent observers and political analysts have questioned the official narrative, calling it flawed and politically motivated. They note the unlikely chain of events linking a poster-pasting incident to allegations of a large-scale terror module and caution that the blast could conceal deeper failures or intentional cover-ups.