Srinagar
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday expressed shock over the demise of veteran journalist and Rising Kashmir Editor Shujaat Bukhari.
Taking to her twitter handle Mehbooba wrote: “Shocked & deeply saddened by the sudden demise of Shujaat Bukhari. The scourge of terror has reared its ugly head on the eve of Eid. I strongly condemn this act of mindless violence & pray for his soul to rest in peace. My deepest condolences to his family.”
In another tweet, she wrote: “Terrorism has hit a new low with Shujaat’s killing. That too, on the eve of Eid. We must unite against forces seeking to undermine our attempts to restore peace. Justice will be done.”
Reacting to the killing of Shujaat Bukhari, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, said that it’s an act of cowardice and an attempt to silence the saner voices of Kashmir.
“The killing of @RisingKashmir editor, Shujaat Bukhari is an act of cowardice. It is an attempt to silence the saner voices of Kashmir. He was a courageous and fearless journalist. Extremely shocked & pained at his death. My thoughts and prayers are with his bereaved family,” Singh wrote on Twitter.
Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah in a serious of tweets wrote: “I’m in complete shock. Hearing the worst but hoping for the best. @bukharishujaat please pull through this.”
“inna lilahi wa inna illahi rajiuun. Shocked beyond words. May Shujaat find place in Jannat & May his loved ones find strength at this difficult time,” Omar tweeted.
“Even in the last tweet he put out he was defending himself, his colleagues & his profession. He died in the line of duty doing what he did best & loved doing – journalism. #ShujaatBukhari.”
“Along with Shujaat his security chap was also killed & another lies injured in hospital. Prayers & condolences for them & their families also on this terrible night.”
“My last DM exchange with #ShujaatBukhari. I can’t believe the mulaqat we were going to fix will never take place now. Life is just too uncertain & often too unkind,” Omar wrote on his widely following twitter handle.
Rahul Gandhi, Member of Parliament and President of Indian National Congress also expressed his anguish over the killing of Shujaat Bukhari, and said that “he was a brave heart who fought fearlessly for justice and peace in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Taking to his twitter he wrote: “I’m anguished to hear about the killing of Shujaat Bukhari, editor of @RisingKashmir. He was a brave heart who fought fearlessly for justice and peace in Jammu & Kashmir. My condolences to his family. He will be missed.”
Senior journalist and Television anchor Nidhi Razdan termed Shujaat Bukhari’s killing as an utterly senseless horrific act of violence.
“Devastating news. @bukharishujaat has been shot dead in Srinagar. Shot coming out of his office. Such an utterly senseless senseless horrific act of violence. Don’t have any words,” Razdan wrote on Twitter.
Shujat Bukhari and his personal security guard were killed by unknown gunmen at Press Enclave on Thursday evening.
The unknown gunmen opened indiscriminate fire as soon as Bukhari was disembarking from his vehicle at the press enclave around 7:00 pm.
According to reports, the gunmen fled from the spot while Bukhari and his PSO were removed to SMHS hospital where both of them declared brought dead.
