Bukhari murder: 1 held, police hunt for 3 others
Thousands attend senior editor’s funeral amid heavy rain
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir police arrested one suspect in the killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari and released the photos of three others captured on cameras near the place he was shot to death, as thousands of mourners braved heavy rain to attend his funeral on Friday.
The 50-year-old editor of Rising Kashmir and two of his personal security officers were killed on Thursday evening in a drive-by shooting by suspected terrorists that sparked outrage in the troubled Kashmir valley and condemnation by political leaders across the party divide.
Jammu and Kashmir Police said they suspected three motorcycle-borne men were involved in the murder. The arrested suspect, Zubair Qadri, was seen in a video stealing the pistol of one of the officers shot dead along with Bukhari, said inspector general of police Swayam Prakash Pani.
“The pistol has since been recovered and he is being questioned about his presence at the scene of the crime. So far, he has not been able to give any convincing answers,” Pani added.
The police have formed a special investigation team to probe the killing, said Pani, who described the killing of the journalist as a terror attack.
The identities of the three other gunmen are still being ascertained.
Police officers said on condition of anonymity that they had collected empty shells from the murder site to ascertain what weapons had been used in the killing.