Thousands of mourners on Friday attended the funeral of senior journalist and Editor-in-Chief of English daily “Rising Kashmir” Shujaat Bukhari at his ancestral hometown of Kreeri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, state Public Works Minister Naeem Akhtar, senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz, local journalists and other members from all sections of the society attended the funeral.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was also among the mourners in Kreeri.
Three motorcycle-borne gunmen killed Bukhari and two of his security guards as he boarded his car in the Press Enclave in Srinagar at around 7.15 p.m. on Wednesday to reach home in time for iftar.
The news of Bukhari’s death sent shockwaves across the political and media spectrum.
Political leaders such as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Congress President Rahul Gandhi offered their condolences, calling the killing a “cowardice and a mindless act.”
The Editors Guild of India condemned the “dastardly attack” on Bukhari, calling it a “new low.”
Militant groups condemned the killing while demanding an international probe into the attack.