The Jammu and Kashmir Police today released a screen grab showing a suspect in connection with the killing of journalist Shujaat Bukhari and his two personal guards in Srinagar yesterday and have sought the help of the general public in identifying him.
The police issued the picture from a video, which was purportedly recorded by a passerby following the attack on Bukhari outside his office, showing a bearded man surveying the inside of the journalist’s vehicle and cradling the head of Bukhari’s guard.
The suspect is seen picking up the security officer’s pistol which had fallen out of the car and disappearing from the scene right under the nose of the cops there.
Late last night, police had issued two photographs of three-motorcycle borne suspects that were taken from the CCTV footage. However, their faces were not visible.
While the driver was wearing a helmet, one of the pillion riders had used a face mask to conceal his identity. The face of the third assailant, sitting in the middle, did not seem to be covered but he was leaning towards the other side so as not to be captured on the CCTV.
Any information regarding this suspect may kindly be given to Police Station Kothibagh on 9596770623 or PCR Srinagar on 9596222550, 9596222551, 01942477568 or Police Control Room Kashmir on 100, the Srinagar district police said.
Bukhari is the fourth journalist to be killed by militants in the nearly three-decade-long violence in Kashmir. In 1991, the editor of ‘Alsafa’, Mohammed Shaban Vakil, was killed by militants of Hizbul Muahideen.
