Preliminary investigations into the accidental explosion that ripped through the Nowgam police station late Friday night, killing nine people, suggest that the use of excessive lighting by the forensic team may have triggered the massive blast, officials said Sunday.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs also said the cause of the incident is being investigated and any other speculation into the cause of the blast was unnecessary.
The material, part of the 360 kilograms of explosives recovered from the rented residence of arrested doctor Muzammil Ganaie, was being sampled as part of the ongoing investigation, the officials said.
Security agencies in Jammu and Kashmir are facing a new threat from 'bedroom jihadis' who use social media to spread misinformation and incite communal discord. These individuals, operating from their homes, are part of a sophisticated cross-border effort to destabilize the region by disseminating inflammatory content and propaganda.
Security forces have intensified search operations using aerial surveillance and sniffer dogs following a night-long cordon after fresh reports of suspected movement of three individuals in Panjtirthi area of Kathua.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Srinagar to review the security situation in Kashmir following a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people, including tourists. Shah chaired a high-level meeting of security officials, including those from the Army, CRPF, and police. The attack, claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, is the deadliest in the valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike.
The frequent use of these assault rifles by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, according to experts, is a consequence of the US Army leaving behind arms and ammunition while pulling out from Afghanistan in 2021 and is a cause of concern due to the more lethal nature of the steel bullets used.
The home minister will also review the preparation for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage set to start on June 29.
Police inspector Masroor Ahmad Wani, who was critically injured when he was shot at by a Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist while playing cricket in Srinagar in October, died at AIIMS, New Delhi, on Thursday. He leaves behind his wife, who is expecting their first child.
The entire area has been cordoned off while drones and sniffer dogs are being used to sniff out the terrorists that might be hiding in the area, they said.
At least 15,000 pilgrims, who were stranded near the Amarnath holy cave in Jammu and Kashmir due to a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst, have been shifted to the lower base camp of Panjtarni, an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) spokesperson said on Saturday.
For the soldiers at this frontier, it's a battle that has to be fought on two fronts -- hostile neighbour and harsh winter, which is approaching.
The DGP, who has been monitoring the situation as well as the probe, said that in all likelihood, the unmanned aerial vehicles have flown in from across the border and returned after the operation.
The IED that pierced the rooftop of one of the IAF buildings at the Jammu airport carried less than one kg of RDX and a cocktail of other chemicals whereas the one that was dropped on the ground contained a little over one kg of the deadly explosives along with some ball bearings.
The 91-year-old was buried at a mosque near his residence according to his wishes, his close aides said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police recently arrested five suspected "white-collar jihadis" who were behind a campaign to spread falsehood about the sovereignty of the country.
Khawar Sultan Mir, a resident of the Drangbal area of Pampore in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, laid down his arms before the security forces during the encounter at Lalpora in Pampore, in which two terrorists were killed.
The constable, Rameez Parrey, had come home on holiday a few days ago.
A regular morning cup of tea proved fatal for two unarmed policemen who were gunned down by a terrorist in broad daylight in an upmarket Srinagar area, an incident witnessed by several people and captured on CCTV cameras, police said on Friday.
Terrorist fired on a joint 'naka' of police and the Central Reserve Police Force at Pantha Chowk area late on Saturday night.
The family of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru has been informed about his hanging by the Tihar authorities through Speed Post and the Jammu and Kashmir government was taken into confidence before his execution, the Centre said on Saturday. "They (Tihar jail authorities) intimated the family through Speed Post, registered post and the Director General of Jammu and Kashmir pPolice has been told to check with the family whether they got it or not," Home Secy R K said.
The J-K top cops also said less than 200 militants are currently active in Jammu and Kashmir.
A resident of Uttarakhand's Badena village, Singh had joined the army in 2016 and is survived by his parents.
A top Lashker-e-Toiba militant involved in last year's serial blasts in Uttar Pradesh was killed along with another ultra of the outfit in an encounter with police in Pulwama district on Friday, a senior police official said. The self-styled district commander of LeT, Abdul Rahman of Pakistan alias Rehman Bhai and a local militant Moin Ahmed Mir, were killed in the gunfight with Jammu and Kashmir police personnel at Nikloora-Aglar village.
Bedi said she had been looking forward to working with Delhi Police personnel as a majority of them had been "trained by me."
Sharma, an IPS officer of 1972 batch belongs to the Jammu and Kashmir cadre of the IPS.
Dr Paul moves over to Union Public Service Commission to take the place of Gurbachan Jagat, former director general of Jammu and Kashmir police.
An army soldier was also injured in the encounter.
The army foiled the infiltration bid -- the first such attempt this year -- by the Pakistan-based outfit in an overnight operation
Awan, a resident of Mohalla Miana in Mianwali area of Punjab in Pakistan, was indoctrinated by Lakhvi at his residence in Rawalpindi, officials said.
"It's an unfortunate incident. The BSF convoy was attacked on the national highway by terrorists who fired at it from the by-lanes near Bijbehara," Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police K Rajendra said.
Additional Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Munir Khan said restrictions in Jammu have been completely lifted.
Vaid, a 1986-batch IPS officer, was unceremoniously removed as police chief late on Thursday night.
The number is an all time high for the state with south Kashmir emerging as one of the main hubs, providing cadres to terrorist groups.
The terrorists have been identified as Raqib Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Shiganpora in Kulgam, and Pakistani nationals Waleed and Numan, a police spokesman said.
The support for the eight-year-old girl was growing with politicians, cutting across party lines, seeking justice for her.
Top Lashkar-e-Tayiba commander Abu Qasim was gunned down on Thursday in Kashmir.
Qasim, a Lashkar leader and terrorist, had planned the attack on a Border Security Force convoy in Udhampur on August 5.
Security forces' operation to eliminate the militants in Pindi Kathar area of R S Pura in Jammu and Kashmir is still in progress.
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