Thorough probe needed in Nowgam blast case: Mehbooba Mufti

With security agencies carrying out extensive raids in Kashmir in connection with the “white collar” terror conspiracy case, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said the common people should not be collectively punished for someone’s mistake.

She also called for thorough investigations into the accidental blast at Nowgam police station, saying there were several unanswered questions.

“It seems that the coming time will be frightful for Kashmir. The people of J&K should not get a collective punishment for someone’s mistake in Delhi (Red Fort blast).

“If anyone is guilty, he should be punished, but common Kashmiri people should not be dealt like that,” Mehbooba Mufti told reporters after visiting the family of police inspector Shah Asrar, who was killed in the Nowgam blast on Friday, in Kupwara district in north Kashmir.

The PDP president offered condolences to the family of Asrar, an inspector of the J&K Police’s State Investigation Agency (SIA). She said the incident like Nowgam should not have happened.

“People, especially from the police, lost their lives in the incident. I think Kashmir is going through a worrisome and terrifying atmosphere, and this incident should not have happened. Experts should have been there to deal with ammonium nitrate. It was dangerous to have police and other people deal with that,” she said.

Those who lost their lives have small children. The whole of Kashmir shares their pain, she said.

Calling for a thorough investigation into the Nowgam blast, the PDP president said there were several questions on the incident.

“What was the need of bringing around 3000 kgs of ammonium nitrate, etc, here? What was the need to store it in a police station surrounded by a residential area?

“Why were people like Naib Tehsildar (revenue official) or policemen, who did not have the expertise to deal with that, asked to deal with it? So, there are many questions for which we seek answers,” she said.

She also called upon the government to take special care of the affected families and demanded the highest bravery awards for all those who lost their lives.