Shujaat Bukhari murder: One more arrested, as cops close in on Naved Jutt

The Kashmir police has arrested one more person in connection with the Shujaat Bukhari murder case. The arrested person has been identified as Majeed Zargar, who is a resident of Bandipora.

Sources say that they are ascertaining his role in the murder. We picked him up on the basis of the leads, we have got, the officer informed OneIndia. The police also said that the questioning of Zubair Qadri is ongoing, but add that no direct link with the case has been found as yet.

The police however say that it is more or less confirmed that the main accused in the case is Naved Jutt of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. Jutt is also closely associated with the Hizbul Mujahideen and was ordered to kill Bukhari by the ISI. The ISI wanted to send out a message to all Kashmir journalists that they would meet with Bukhari's fate, if they failed to toe the line.

The police had arrested Zubair Qadri after a video of him stealing a pistol from the murder site surfaced. A police official part of the probe informed that he may not be connected with the murder. He does not appear to be connected with the three killers who were caught on camera.

The police say that one of the three persons who was part of the murder could be Naved Jutt. It may be recalled that in March, a video of Jutt had surfaced in which he was seen along with operatives of the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Jutt it may be recalled had escaped from police custody recently when he was taken to a hospital for a medical check up. This video became a clear indicator that the terrorist groups were working together in Kashmir.

Officials say that it is now clear that this entire operation was carried out on the instructions of the ISI. The ISI was upset with Bukhari for his Track-II efforts in which he had sought for an independent Kashmir. The ISI and the Hizbul were unhappy with his comments on the issue. Following his comments, there were various comments on the social media in which he was accused of being a collaborator.

Officials also say that there were serious differences on the issue of an independent Kashmir, which may have led to the assassination.