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.”