SRINAGAR: Fertiliser and chemical dealers across Kashmir have come under an unprecedented security sweep after the recovery of massive quantities of ammonium nitrate in recent terror investigations and the use of the substance in the deadly Red Fort blast. The Jammu and Kashmir Police has launched an extensive Valley-wide inspection drive to check inventories, storage practices and purchase records of fertiliser and chemical shops, calling it an essential preventive measure to curb the “misuse” of these regulated materials.
The intensified checks follow the November 10 blast near Delhi’s Red Fort, in which the bomber, identified as Dr Umar Nabi, is suspected to have used ammonium nitrate along with the potent explosive TATP. The explosion killed 15 people. The attack came just days after investigators recovered 2,900 kilograms of ammonium nitrate from an “inter-state” Jaish-e-Mohammad module operating across Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad. The outfit is banned in India.
The Indian Express reported that the JK Police had already seized 360 kilograms of ammonium nitrate from the same module, involving two Kashmiri doctors, before the seized explosive material accidentally detonated during forensic sampling at the Nowgam police station in Srinagar on November 14. Nine people were killed and 32 were injured in the blast.
A senior police officer told The Indian Express that militants were increasingly relying on locally available materials because “it has become difficult to bring explosives from Pakistan”. He said ammonium nitrate, widely used as a nitrogen-rich fertiliser in agriculture, was the most accessible. “Its use is essential in the agriculture sector, and the government can’t afford to ban it. That’s why there is a need to check its misuse,” the officer said, adding that the Red Fort and Nowgam blasts had demonstrated how devastating its misuse could be.
Police teams have fanned out across Ganderbal, Sopore, Awantipora and other areas to verify stock registers, invoices, storage conditions, sale records and licences of fertiliser dealers, chemical shops, hardware outlets and even industries handling blendable or sensitive raw materials. The drive, a police spokesperson said, was aimed at “plugging all possible loopholes that could be exploited for terror or criminal activities”.
In north Kashmir’s Sopore, traders were instructed to maintain full identification details of buyers, record the purpose of procurement and install functional CCTV cameras for traceability. ETV Bharat reported that the police also reminded traders of similar directives issued after the Pulwama suicide attack in 2019. “Ammonium nitrate is essential for agricultural use and hence readily available. But it has been misused by terror groups, and these inspections are meant to ensure compliance and monitoring,” a senior officer told the channel.
The inspections extend beyond chemical shops. Second-hand car dealers are also under scrutiny after the Red Fort car that exploded was found to be registered in the name of a Pampore resident. Police officers told The Indian Express that proper transfer of ownership was crucial to prevent misuse of untraceable vehicles.
Another security official cited by The Indian Express described a new challenge confronting the agencies: bomb-making tutorials available on social media platforms such as YouTube. “The information we have as of now about the Jaish module suggests that they didn’t have any formal training. They learnt it from videos,” he said. “This is particularly dangerous in lone-wolf attacks.”
Ammonium nitrate is a regulated substance under the Explosives Act, 1884, and is governed in industrial use by the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. Despite these regulations, its legitimate demand across agriculture, healthcare and industry complicates enforcement.
The police said inspections will continue as part of an ongoing effort to strengthen surveillance across sensitive commercial establishments. Citizens have been urged to remain alert and report any suspicious activity as authorities attempt to tighten control over materials that, while essential, can be catastrophically misused.
