4th suspect in Shujaat Bukhari killing case arrested hours after police release photo

Srinagar: The fourth suspect in the killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari in Srinagar has been arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police hours after his photo was released on Friday. 

"A suspect has been taken into custody," S P Pani, IG Kashmir told the media on Friday evening. 

The police officer said that the fourth suspect in the killing of editor of 'Rising Kashmir' newspaper in J&K has been identified. "His role for the recovery of the pistol has been done. Investigation of the case is underway," S P Pani said.

Earlier on Friday, the Jammu and Kashmir police released the photo of the fourth suspect, a bearded man, in a white kurta and skull cap, checking on the bodies in the car, not long after Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead.

Read: Cops issue photo of 4th suspect in journalist Shujaat Bukhari's killing

As someone pulls out one of the bodies from the car, the suspect is seen picking up a pistol and leaving the crime spot. The gun has been recovered from him.

The fourth man is suspected to be a local. 

"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 of veteran journalist Shujaat Bukhari.

The Editor-in-Chief of 'Rising Kashmir' newspaper was killed at around 7:30 pm on Thursday when he had stepped out of his office in Press Enclave to attend an Iftar party. The police suspect the killers were working for the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Hours after senior journalist Shujaat Bhukari was shot dead on Thursday evening, the police released security footage of the terrorists on a bike. The faces of the rider and the third man are hidden by a helmet and a mask. The man between the rider and the one on pillion is seen holding what seems to be a sack of weapons. His face is shielded from the CCTV cameras by the third man.

Shujaat Bukhari was given police protection after an attempt on his life in 2000. 

According to reports, the father of two, Shujaat Bukhari, was also said to be on a terrorist hit list.

In 2006, Shujaat Bukhari was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen who then attempted to shoot him at close range. Miraculously, the gunman's pistol got locked and the senior journalist ran for his life.

In recent weeks, he had strongly backed the internal ceasefire announced by the Centre for Ramzan.

Just days ago, he tweeted on the killings of two policemen in Pulwama in south Kashmir. 

"It is heart wrenching to see these policemen getting killed during Shab e Qadr. May the families have courage to bear the loss. At the end two more Kashmiris lose lives. Violence must stop to create a space for dialogue," he posted.

The police have put out a public appeal for help to identify the killers from the CCTV images. The police assured that the identity of the informant would be kept confidential.