Seven people were killed and 27 others injured in a massive explosion at a police station in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. The casualties occurred when an explosive device seized from a police station in Srinagar’s Nogam police station went off on Saturday (November 15) midnight, NDTV reported.

The death toll is expected to rise as five people are in critical condition, a source said. Most of the dead were police officers and forensic team members who were conducting explosives tests when the incident occurred.

Two officials of the Srinagar administration are among the dead.

The injured have been taken to the Army’s 92nd Base Hospital and Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences.

Senior police officials rushed to the scene after the explosion. The area has also been cordoned off.

NDTV reported that police personnel from this police station had dealt with the issue of posters of the armed group Jaish-e-Mohammed being put up in the area.

Based on the poster, a large quantity of explosives was recovered. In addition, several doctors were also arrested.

Meanwhile, a doctor named Adil Ahmed Rathe was arrested in October for putting up posters warning of major attacks on security forces and outsiders in Kashmir. His arrest led to the discovery of a network that carried out suicide bombings in Delhi, killing 13 people.