Top Kashmir editor shot dead in Srinagar attack
2 security guards dead; Rajnath blames terrorists
SRINAGAR: A senior journalist and chief editor of a popular Kashmiri newspaper was killed on Thursday by unidentified gunmen in a drive-by shooting in Srinagar that put an already tense state on edge and led chief minister Mehbobba Mufti to describe the attack as a “new low for terrorism”.
Shujaat Bukhari, 48, the editor-in-chief of Rising Kashmir, was targeted by three gunmen on a motorcycle while he was in his car, having just left his Press Colony office just before Iftar. He was accompanied by two security guards, Abdul Hameed and Mumtaz Ahmad, who were also killed as multiple bullets were sprayed at them.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh said “there is no doubt that terrorists have killed Shujaat Bhukhari.” He also spoke to the Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti late on Wednesday, and said she was “distraught”.
A journalist for three decades, he had worked for 15 years at The Hindu and was known in the state and the rest of the country as an important Kashmiri voice. No militant organisation had taken responsibility for the attack by the time of going to print. Bukhari was an advocate of a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue and was instrumental in organising several conferences involving former diplomats and generals from India and Pakistan.
He was also part of the Track-II diplomatic process with the neighbouring country.
The killing led to an outpouring of condolence messages from people on all sides of the political spectrum, including separatist leaders.
Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who went to Bukhari’s house to meet his family, broke down while speaking about him. “This is really shocking. He came to meet me a few days back. This is upsetting...,” she said. Bukhari is survived by his wife and two children.
His brother Syed Basharat Bukhari is the horticulture minister in the J&K government.
A senior police officer said that gunmen had opened fire on Bukhari and his security guards from two sides. “He (Bukhari) has several bullet injuries and probably died on the spot,’’ the officer said.
Another police officer who reached the spot soon after the attack said the guards, who were carrying weapons, had been taken by surprise. He said that they were investigating whether the gunmen had used small arms or rifles, which would be confirmed after a detailed examination of the shells by ballistic experts. Bukhari’s colleague at Rising Kashmir, Ishfaq Ahmad, said he had just left the office. “Within minutes, we heard gunshots. I can’t believe that our editor is dead.’’