J&K Police close to cracking #ShujaatBukhari murder case
Meanwhile, journalists in the Valley fear for their lives.
The Jammu & Kashmir police has nearly cracked the
assassination case of the Rising Kashmir Editor-in-Chief Syed Shujaat Bukhari.
He was killed in broad daylight at the busy Press Enclave in Srinagar on the
evening of June 14, just before the faithful could break their fast.
A senior official who is part of the investigating team said
they have identified the assailants. “They were three in number and all of them
are locals,” he told Newslaundry, on condition of anonymity. “However, we want
to be sure about their identities so that there is no goof-up.” He said it
would take the police only three to four more days to apprise public about who
killed Bukhari.
Explaining how the security establishment approached the
case, the officer said, “Presently, there is a multi-layer investigation
going-on in this high profile case. One is the execution and the other is the
conspiracy part of it. We have cracked both and we will go public soon.”
The police expanded the investigation to north and south of
Kashmir as well. Over a dozen of people have been detained by the police for
questioning. Some of them have been arrested from Bukhari’s native village as
well.
Talking about the blog post titled “Touts who are betraying
the Kashmir struggle” which was a part of the smearing campaign against
Bukhari, the official said, “We have tracked the IP address and know where from
it being uploaded. We are investigating all the online content about Shujaat.”
The blog in its latest post has named two senior
journalists, Ahmed Ali Fayyaz and Iftikhar Gilani. Both are worried for their
safety now. While Fayyaz wrote a long post on his Facebook wall—titled “The
masked man’s vilification campaign” and fully explaining his position—Gilani
has kept mum so far.
Fayyaz wrote: “This vitriolic content about me is totally
unfounded and apparently the result of someone's disliking me or hating my
persona as a journalist for reasons not known to me. From day one in this noble
profession, I have performed simply as a journalist and never ever associated
myself with any ‘peace process’, track-2 or any other ‘diplomacy’ or even any
NGO. Staying away from all kinds of extra-curricular activism, I have
restricted myself simply to the fundamental job of a journalist—reporting
developments, analysing issues and writing op-ed pieces. I have never ever
taken upon myself the task of strengthening or weakening any narrative or
ideology or attempted to impose my personal ideology on my esteemed readers who
are from vast, diverse opinions and backgrounds.”
When asked about the security of Fayyaz and Gilani, the
official said, “There are not only the two names or the journalists. The list
has several names. We have tried to provide security to some of them, while
others have refused to take it.”
Organisations like the Press Club of India, the Indian
Women's Press Corps, the Press Association, and the Federation of Press Clubs
in India have also sought the attention of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to
the potentially inflammatory contents of the blog.
The organisations have asked the Home Minister to take
appropriate and preemptive action at the earliest and against all such similar
IP addresses, blogs and writings that target specific individuals with
potential violence.
Rubbing salt in the wounds
As journalists in Kashmir were still recovering from the
shock about the assassination of Shujaat Bukhari, the shamed former Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) minister Chaudhary Lal Singh warned Kashmiri journalists of
two things: either “mend ways” or “face something like what happened to
Basharat” (referring to Bukhari).
Lal Singh’s comments were duly rebutted from every corner of
the political strata but it raised a few questions. First, is it that whoever
does not toe the line of the government will be silenced forever? Second, if such
comments are coming from a minister who was a part of government until
recently, then who killed Shujaat Bukhari?
Explaining this conundrum Shams Irfan, a journalist working
with Kashmir Life, says: “BJP’s threatening statement against Kashmiri journalist
was like rubbing salt into our fresh wounds. He should be investigated. His
statement has left entire fraternity vulnerable. How can an elected
representative propagate violence so brazenly and get away with it? I fail to
understand!”
Yes, Kashmiri journalists are afraid. The once buzzing Press
Enclave in the heart of Lal Chowk almost wears a deserted look now. Most
journalists sit inside their offices, rather than being outside in the Enclave.
Explaining the fear among the journalistic fraternity, Shams says, “As a
journalist we are yet to come out of shock. Killing him outside his office in
Press Enclave was a statement that none of us is safe.”
Published by Newslaundary on Jun 27, 2018
