Tragic Loss: Inspector Asrar Ahmad Shah of J&K Police Killed in Accidental Blast at Nowgam Police Station

Inspector Asrar Ahmad Shah joined the police force in 2011 (File).

New Delhi:

Inspector Asrar Ahmad Shah of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was among the nine individuals who lost their lives in the accidental explosion at Nowgam Police Station on Friday.

The 38-year-old Asrar hailed from Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir. He served as a member of the State Investigation Agency (SIA), a recently established unit in the Union Territory dedicated to investigating terrorism-related cases.

In conversation with NDTV, his family revealed they discovered the tragic news through social media platforms.

"We are completely devastated by this news. Asrar was truly a brave officer. He demonstrated exceptional academic abilities from a young age. He was universally admired," shared Asrar's cousin Ubaer during the NDTV interview. Ubaer mentioned that Asrar began his police career in 2011 and approached his duties with dedication and integrity.

According to Ubaer, "We first learned about the incident through social media. Several officers from his batch have previously been martyred during operations."

Asrar is survived by his parents, wife, and three children.

Officials have confirmed that Friday's explosion at Nowgam claimed nine lives and left 32 others injured.

On Saturday, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat emphasized that speculation regarding the incident was unnecessary, as initial findings indicated an accidental explosion during a required forensic procedure.

During a media briefing, DGP Prabhat explained that the explosion occurred during an ongoing investigation under FIR 62 of 2025, connected to a significant seizure of explosive materials, chemicals, and reagents recovered from Faridabad on November 9 and 10.

"This recovery, similar to our other recoveries, was transported and secured in an open area of the Nowgam Police Station," Prabhat stated.

"Due to the extensive nature of the recovery, this process had been ongoing for the past two days, meaning yesterday and the day before, conducted by the FSL team. Given the unstable and sensitive characteristics of the recovered materials, the sampling process and handling were being performed with extreme caution by the FSL team," the DGP further explained.

Reaffirming that the explosion was accidental, Prabhat announced that a formal inquiry has been initiated to investigate all technical aspects of the incident.