Jaish car bomb kills 7 the day Azad takes charge in Srinagar

In an emotional speech later, Azad warned the militants and said they should rethink since they would not be given a free rein to commit human rights violations. In the same breath, he said custodial killings by security forces would not be tolerated.

The explosion took place at Nowgam when a car strapped with explosives was detonated by a militant on being challenged by a traffic policeman. The militant, two policemen and three civilians, including a woman, were killed at the spot. Two of the 14 wounded later succumbed to their injuries.

‘‘It was actually good intelligence that we intercepted the militant on the outskirts. Had he entered the city, he would have inflicted a lot of casualties,’’ said Javeed Maqdoomi, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Range.

The blast coincided with preparations for the swearing in of a Congress chief minister after nearly three decades. Azad, along with 12 other ministers, took oath of office at the tightly secured S K International Convention Centre here. Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

‘‘We will take every step to respect the sentiments of people,’’ Azad said at a press conference after being sworn in. ‘‘Custodial killings will not be tolerated. But it is not going to be a free-for-all for the militants either. They have to change their strategy,’’ he added.

Azad said the peace process, being pursued both at national and local levels, will be continued. ‘‘The talks are going on at the Prime Minister’s and foreign ministers’ level and they will be continued. At the state level also we will take them forward,’’ he said.

‘‘Our security forces are facing some hurdles in the restoration of peace and we are meeting to address these problems also,’’ he added.