Shujaat Bukhari assassination undertaken by three local terrorists and a Pakistani

The Jammu and Kashmir police are leaving no stone unturned to arrest the killers of senior journalist and Rising Kashmir editor, Shujaat Bukhari. While one suspect was arrested on Friday, a manhunt has been launched for three others.

The killing was undertaken by three local terrorists and a Pakistani, the probe so far has revealed. Sources tell OneIndia that the three locals could be from the Hizbul Mujahideen while the Pakistani terrorist is from the Lashkar-e-Tayiba.

Zubair, who was arrested by the police is from Kanitar in Srinagar. The police recovered a pistol from him which belonged to one of the PSOs who was killed along with Bukhari. In a video released, Zubair is seen checking whether the PSO is alive or not. The video also shows Zubair fleeing with the pistol of the PSO.

The police say that the killing of Bukhari is part of a large conspiracy. It is an act of terror the police confirmed while also adding that the role of the ISI could not be ruled out.

There was no specific threat to the journalist, but he had been on the radar of the terrorists for long, the police also said.

It may be recalled that Bukhari was abducted by terrorists in 2006. He had however managed to escape.

S P Pani, IG Kashmir said that the role of Zubair is being probed. "As far as the case (Shujaat Bukhari killing case) is concerned at this stage it is a terror incident. It is a terrorist-related crime. We are investigating into the case," IG Kashmir said.

The Inspector General of Kashmir further said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted and DIG central Kashmir is heading the investigating team that will probe into the killing.