Nowgam police station blast revives memories of 1994 Badami Bagh arsenal tragedy

Srinagar: The powerful explosion that ripped through Srinagar’s Nowgam Police Station on Friday night, killing nine people and injuring over 30, has drawn immediate comparisons with one of Kashmir’s worst military accidents - the 1994 blast at the Indian Army’s Field Ordnance Depot (FOD) in Badami Bagh Cantonment.

The parallels between the two incidents have triggered renewed scrutiny of how seized explosives are stored and examined in the conflict-hit region.

The March 29, 1994, explosion inside the 15 Corps headquarters occurred when Army Ordnance Corps personnel were inspecting arms and ammunition recovered during counter-insurgency operations.

Parliamentary records later confirmed that 13 Army personnel, including senior officers, were killed, while contemporaneous reports placed the toll as high as 15. The blast devastated a section of the cantonment, prompting debates in the Rajya Sabha on the safety of storing volatile material inside Srinagar’s most strategic military installation.

Friday’s blast at Nowgam bears unsettling similarities. According to officials, forensic teams were analysing explosive material brought from outside Kashmir when the cache detonated around 11:20 pm. J&K police chief has ruled out a terror angle, calling the incident an “accidental blast” during evidence examination.

However, the fact that the material was part of an ongoing terror-related investigation has sharpened questions about handling protocols.

Security experts say the tragedy underscores the persistent risks associated with transporting and testing unstable explosives, especially within populated areas.

The Nowgam police station sits close to residential neighbourhoods, amplifying fears among locals who watched emergency vehicles race through the night as the blaze engulfed the complex.

The incident comes at a time when security forces and police across the Valley have been recovering significant quantities of explosive material linked to various terror modules.

Friday’s blast, officials admit, may force a reassessment of standard operating procedures for managing such recoveries, from transit to forensic examination.

Politically, the incident is expected to attract attention both in Srinagar and New Delhi, given its resemblance to the 1994 disaster. As investigators probe what went wrong at Nowgam, the blast has reopened a long-dormant debate: whether Kashmir has truly learned from the deadly lessons of Badami Bagh, or whether the region remains vulnerable to the same catastrophic oversights three decades later.