Thousands attend Shujaat Bukhari’s funeral in North Kashmir’s  Kreeri

bukhari funeral

Baramulla:  The skies opened up on Friday as thousands of friends and admirers joined the funeral procession of veteran journalist Syed  Shujaat Bukhari, who was laid to rest in his ancestral village here a day after he was shot dead outside his office in Srinagar.

Braving heavy rain, crowds of tearful mourners from across the Valley followed the cortege through the streets Kreeri area of Baramulla distruct .

Despite fasting and heavy rains,  Kreeri  witnessed a huge funeral Procession for a Journalist  who was killed in a attack along with  other two  PSOs in Press Colony in Srinagar on Thursday.

The message found wide echo as crowds of tearful mourners from across the Valley followed the cortege through the streets of this sleepy hamlet in kreeri area, a short distance from Pattan.

Amongst those who took part in the last rites of the journalist and visited his ancestral home to condole with the family were opposition leader Omar Abdullah, Cabinet Ministers, legislators, Parliamentarians, Bureaucrats besides a huge gathering of Public participated in the funeral. Separatist leader Yasin Malik also participated.

It was probably the biggest funeral procession the village had seen, observers said.

There was a traffic jam in the area as the crowds of mourners swelled.

Meanwhile, Several  activists and renowned journalists strongly condemned the ‘heinous and cold blooded murder’ of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari, they stated that, Such a serious crime being committed in the state is alarming and outrageous. It underscores the complete lack of safety in offices  and on the streets of a city which boasts of a significant presence of  professionals. The murder must be investigated effectively and with urgency, so that the culprits are caught and punished in an exemplary manner, they said .

Entire Jammu & Kashmir state went into a mourning mode soon after Bukhari’s demise was splashed on national and local news channel. Dr Bukhari’s demise left Journalist and people of all shades into tears.

Bukhari, who was in his 50s, was leaving his office in Press Enclave in the city centre Lal Chowk for an Iftar party when he was shot, While two of the personal security officers (PSO) guarding him were also killed in this attack, and a civilian were injured.

Dr Shujaat Bukhari was veteran Journalist of Kashmir,  He had extensively worked with The Hindu and was Bureau Chief of the esteemed daily. Bukhari was an extensively travelled journalist, who used to write in English, Kashmiri and Urdu,  Bukhari  was also the president of Adbee Markaz Kamraz, the biggest and oldest cultural and literary organization of Valley.

However, The Jammu and Kashmir Police has released two pictures of three bike-borne men who are suspected to have killed Shujaat Bukhari, and sought the public’s help in identifying them, a news agency ANI reported. The three militants were caught on a CCTV camera, the police said.

The two pictures shared by news agency showed the three men riding a motorcycle. The attackers had their faces covered. The police released the pictures late night and asked the public to help them identify the attackers. “In connection with today’s terror attack at Srinagar, police requests general public to identify the suspects for the purpose of the police investigation,” a statement read.

Mir Suhail is a Srinagar based journalist

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