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 report of the National Bomb Data Centre, under the National Security Guard, differs from that of the State Forensic Science Laboratory, Junga, and the police investigation according to which a gas leak had caused the blast.
Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing from the spot. A purported video of the aftermath of the explosion also surfaced on social media showing thick dense white smoke.
A purported Telegram post circulated on social media, which claimed that the blast was carried out in retaliation to the "targeting" of pro-Khalistan separatists allegedly by Indian agents.
A low-intensity blast occurred near a multiplex in Delhi's Rohini on Thursday, injuring one person and sparking panic. The explosion took place near a park in the same area where a previous blast occurred in October. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi accused the BJP-led central government of failing to maintain law and order in the national capital.
Ahead of the visit of Pakistani Special Investigating Team, likely to take place in the last week of this month, the NIA sent the Letters Rogatory, a legal document sent through the special court asking details about the phone numbers dialled by the four terrorists.
The operation to fully sanitise the Pathankot Air base, which was attacked by six terrorists last Saturday, is "close to completion" with the personnel of the National Security Guard, the army and the Garud commandos of Indian Air Force undertaking the task on the sprawling complex.
At this moment it is not possible to say whether any organisation or an individual was involved, the home minister said. There were certain theories during his visit to the cafe on Friday night, expressing suspicion that someone might have done it out of 'heartburn', unable to digest the cafe's success and expansion.
The anti-terror probe agency's chief Sharad Kumar said help of Pakistan will be sought in solving the Pathankot terror attack case.
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