At least 16 students were injured in a blast inside a classroom at a private school in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday afternoon. The condition of the injured students, who were admitted to different hospitals, is learnt to be stable.
Students said that they were inside the classroom when the explosion took place. The school management said of the 37 students in the classroom, at least 16 were injured.
The J&K police said in an official statement that “some explosion” took place inside Falai-e-Millat, a private school at Narbal in Pulwama district, and 12 students were injured. The school was running winter tuitions.
Mir Javid, one of the schoolteachers, told The Indian Express that they rushed towards Class X after they heard a bang. “We found the students crying. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals,” he said.
SSP Pulwama Chandan Kohli said they have registered a case and started investigation. “A blast took place inside Class X in the school. Investigation is on. Sixteen students were injured,” he said.
Officials at health facilities in Pulwama, Pampore and Srinagar, where the students were taken, said they came with splinter injuries. “All of them are stable. We referred some students to Srinagar for specialised treatment,” said Dr Rukhsana, Block Medical Officer, Pampore. She said 11 students were brought to the sub-district Hospital in Pampore.
At the emergency room of Srinagar’s Shri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital, Abrar, one of the victims, is writhing in pain. “As soon the teacher stepped out of the classroom, there was a huge blast and it was all dark inside. Everyone was crying,” says 16-year-old Abrar.
Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Saleem Tak, said eight students were admitted there. “They have splinter injuries in lower limbs,” he said. “All of them are stable.”
According to a Raj Bhavan statement, Governor Satya Pal Malik has “deeply regretted” the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 for the injured.
