J&K police arrest five in Babar Qadri killing

The Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested five persons in connection with the killing of advocate Babar Qadri, a well-known lawyer at the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, who was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in Srinagar on September 24.

New Delhi:The Jammu and Kashmir police have arrested five persons involved in the killing of advocate Babar Qadri, of which two of them are already lodged in Central jail of Srinagar for other crimes.

Qadri was shot on September 24 at his residence in Hawal area of Srinagar by two men. The two men, who were masked, had entered into his residence as clients. Qadri was rushed to the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in Srinagar, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

The five were arrested by the Special Investigative Team (SIT) that was formed a day after the killing of Qadri on September 24 this year. The SIT is headed by the SP Hazratbal. The special investigation team of J&K police arrested two people from Central Jail for which they had to take the permission of the court. The two have been identified as Muneer Aziz from Kupwara and Tauseef Ahmed Shah from Srinagar who were lodged in jail. Three more people, who were arrested in the case, have been identified as Shahid Shafi Mir from Khanyar, Zahid Farooq from Nowhatta and Asif Bhat - all from Srinagar.

Talking to ETV Bharat, police officials said that Zahid Farooq was slapped with a PSA after the Article 370 amendment on August 5, 2091, but was later released. He was booked for stone-pelting.

Police said the three were identified by the family members of Babar Qadri who had seen them and they have been sent to judicial custody till December 22.

"Shahid, Zahid and Asif have claimed that they killed Babar on the directions of Muneer and Tauseef," police informed.

Apart from practising as a lawyer, Babar Qadri often participated in television news debates.