Nine people were killed and several others injured in a blast that took place at the Nowgam police station in Jammu and Kashmir after personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir police, forensic experts and other staff were extracting samples from explosives allegedly seized from terrorists who were planning an attack. The intensity of the blast was such that some body parts were recovered from nearby houses, around 100-200 metres away. The families of those dead will sleep tonight knowing that they will never see their loved ones again, a scene that is too heartbreaking to consider.
More than that, however, it highlights how ill-equipped the State's security forces are for handling explosive material, with the consequence being that the explosion at the police station and in the custody of the police has claimed nearly as many lives as the explosion on a crowded street did. The security forces claimed that due care was being taken, given the sensitive nature of the operation and that it was being conducted by experts, but clearly, the consequences indicate that whatever those efforts were, they were not enough. The result is that the incident means a loss of nine police personnel, something no terror attack has been able to achieve for the last several years.
There is no doubt that an official inquiry will be initiated, it will submit its report with several recommendations, and the government will promise to right the wrong. But none of this can take away from the fact that, despite repeated assertions that precautions were being taken, one gets the impression that safety rules and regulations are becoming a farce. What is lacking is accountability and serious follow-up action.
Explosives and explosive material are handled by security agencies around the world. In no country of the world have we heard of explosive material that has been seized and is supposedly in the ‘safe custody’ of the police accidentally exploding in a manner that has killed nine people and threatened the lives of several others. It's almost as if the J&K police have welcomed a Trojan horse into their gates only to have it kill you from within.
There are several unanswered questions. Why was it kept in a location where it would be a risk to as many people as it did? Why were nine people within the vicinity of highly sensitive explosive material when ideally only those personnel absolutely necessary for the operation should have been present? And if they say only those who were necessary were present, why is it that protocol indicated that nine people were necessary for a job that ideally should be achieved by putting as few lives as possible at risk?
No one will want to take accountability for the loss, and the families will be left to count the cost. When terrorists intentionally attack innocent citizens, they are rightly made to face the consequences. When officials, by their negligence, do the same, is no one responsible?
It's about time we stop treating lives as disposable and put safety above all. Avoidable and preventable deaths not only kill the morale of the forces but leave the impression that, for all the bravado, Indian forces have managed to fumble what would have been their biggest recent success. It is not a good look.
