Plot to kill Shujaat hatched in Pak, executed by LeT: Police

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 28

Two weeks after the killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari, the J&K Police on Thursday said the conspiracy to kill him was hatched in Pakistan and executed by three Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, including a Pakistani national.

During the investigation, the police have so far identified four accused, including one hailing from Srinagar who is now based in Pakistan.

Shujaat, 50, was shot dead by gunmen along with his two security guards in the heart of city on the eve of Eid-ul Fitr on June 14. A day after the killing, the police constituted a Special Investigation Team led by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Central Kashmir Range, VK Birdi, to probe the murder. The Lashkar has been constantly denying its involvement in the killing and instead blamed “Indian agencies”.

The four accused in the case are Sajad Gul, a Srinagar resident based in Pakistan; Azad Ahmad Malik, alias Dada, of Bijbehara, Anantnag; Muzaffar Ahmed, alias Talha, of Qazigund, Kulgam; and Naveed Jatt of Pakistan, who had escaped from police custody from a Srinagar hospital in February this year.

While terming the murder a “terror crime”, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone, SP Pani said there were two parts to the killing.

“First is the conspiracy, second execution. In the first part, there was a social media and malicious campaign (against Shujaat) which was intimidating at times. Five or six posts were from public and a Facebook account, “Kadwa sach Kashmir”, and Twitter handle “Ahmad Khalid”. The evidence we have got with the cooperation of the service provider proves that they belong to Pakistan and they are part of the Lashkar conspiracy. The person associated with it is Gul, who is connected with the Lashkar,” Pani said during a press conference in Srinagar.

“Gul was arrested by the Delhi Police in 2003 and by the Srinagar Police in 2016 in terror cases. He obtained a passport fraudulently and left the country in March 2017. At present, we have opted for a lookout notice to apprehend him. He is the person who created blogs and write-ups,” the IGP said.

The police are likely to approach Interpol for seeking custody of Gul, who has done MBA from a private college in Bengaluru.

Pani said the three active militants of the Lashkar were behind the execution.

“There was a picture of three bike-borne suspects that was released after the incident. The investigation established that they were Azad Ahmad Malik, a Lashkar operative who has been active since December 2016; Muzaffar Ahmad, another Lashkar operative who has been active since January 2018; and Naveed Jatt, who is active in south Kashmir,” the IGP said.

The police also released pictures of the four accused during the press briefing. About the arrest of Zubair Ahmed, who had picked up a pistol from the spot where Shujaat was killed along with his guards, Pani said, his role was being investigated.

Cops to approach Interpol 

The police are likely to approach Interpol for seeking custody of conspirator Sajad Gul, who has done MBA from a private college in Bengaluru. He was earlier arrested by the Delhi Police in 2003 and by Srinagar Police in 2016 in terror cases.