Tragic End for Tailor in Nowgam Police Station Blast: Daughter's Final Plea Before Fatal J&K Explosion

New Delhi:

Among the nine casualties in the accidental explosion at a Nowgam police station near Srinagar was a 57-year-old tailor. The devastating incident occurred as police and forensic experts were extracting samples from explosive materials recently confiscated from Faridabad, Haryana.

According to Mohammad Shafi Pare's family members, he had been summoned to the station to create bags for packaging individual explosive components. "The authorities brought him in yesterday morning. He briefly returned home to pray," recounted his cousin, Mohammad Shafi Sheikh.

When Pare returned for his evening meal around 9 pm, his daughter begged him to remain home due to the cold weather. "Papa, don't go," she pleaded. However, he insisted on completing his assignment at the police station. "I'll finish work and come back," were the final words he spoke to his family.

His loved ones had no indication this would be their final interaction with him.

"Later that night, we heard an explosion. We hurried to the police station. The entire facility had collapsed into rubble, with bodies severely damaged," Sheikh explained.

The family spent hours searching desperately before finally discovering his remains in a corner of the hospital.

They chose to temporarily withhold the tragic news from his wife and daughter, unable to bear inflicting such heartbreak.

Pare left behind three children and was the family's sole provider. Another relative, Tariq Ahmad Shah, noted that had Pare been officially employed by the police force, his family would now have financial security.

"I must ask," Shah questioned, "When the police employ plumbers and other service personnel, why not a tailor? He went to assist the authorities. What assistance can we now expect from the government?"

Overwhelmed by sorrow and frustration, the family is also demanding the police station be moved away from their residential area, arguing that no other family should endure similar suffering.

They express outrage regarding doctors' involvement in the explosives scheme, believing those arrested thus far represent only a fraction of those responsible.

"More influential individuals are involved," they assert, demanding justice. "Until all responsible parties are held accountable, nothing will truly change," they emphasized.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's Jammu and Kashmir government has promised compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each deceased victim's family and Rs 1 lakh to those severely injured in the Nowgam explosion.

The blast occurred late Friday evening. Police officials stated that the explosion happened despite their extreme caution when handling the highly unstable explosive materials.

The explosion left widespread destruction in its wake. Multiple vehicles ignited, and nearby structures sustained damage. Human remains were scattered throughout the debris, with some reportedly found near residences 300 meters from the blast site.