Srinagar, Nov 15: A pall of grief descended on Nowgam and the adjoining neighbourhoods on Saturday morning after it emerged that 47-year-old tailor Mohammad Shafi Parray, the lone breadwinner of his family, was among the nine people killed in the accidental blast at the Nowgam Police Station late Friday night.
Parray, a resident of Wanabal, had been assisting investigators in collecting and packing samples of explosive material seized from a recently busted “white-collar” terror module. The explosives had been recovered earlier this month from Faridabad, Haryana, and were being examined by forensic teams when the blast occurred around 11:20 pm.
A devoted family man and an active volunteer in his local mosque, Parray had spent the entire day helping the police and forensic teams. He returned home twice—first for Friday prayers and later for dinner—before heading back in the evening to finish the work that would tragically claim his life.
His wife, daughter, and two sons had no idea that it would be the last time they would see him alive.
According to neighbours, the family frantically tried to locate him after hearing about the explosion. Police initially informed them that he had sustained injuries. But by early Saturday, the truth emerged—Parray had succumbed to his wounds. The family was asked to identify his body.
As news spread, mourners streamed into Parray’s modest two-storey home. Wails echoed through the lanes as his relatives and neighbours struggled to process the loss of a man remembered as “honest, hardworking, and deeply respected.”
“He was a man of character, the president of our local mosque,” an elderly relative said, recalling how Parray had even collected donations during Friday prayers earlier in the day.
Locals said the tailor was taken by police around 10 am on Friday for packing work related to the seized explosives. He followed his routine—prayers, meals, work—until the fateful night when the blast tore through the police station premises, killing officials of SIA, FSL, revenue teams, two crime photographers, and Parray himself.
Residents living nearly a kilometre away said the explosion shattered window panes and shook homes. Many rushed to the police station to help rescue teams.
“We found body parts scattered across the area. I picked up someone’s arm,” said Jawhar Ahmad Wani, a neighbour.
Another local, Tariq Ahmad, recounted identifying Parray’s body. “He did not have any legs… It was heartbreaking,” he said.
The community is now united in one appeal—government support for the devastated family.
“We request the lieutenant governor to help the family and provide a job to his son,” Wani said, emphasising that Parray’s small tailoring shop was the only source of income for his household.
Parray’s death has left the family shattered and the locality in mourning, as they grapple with the sudden loss of a man who spent his final day helping authorities handle sensitive material—unaware that he was walking into danger.
