Conspiracy to kill Bukhari was hatched in Pakistan: Police
Srinagar, June 28: The Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Thursday that the conspiracy to kill noted Kashmiri journalist Shujaat Bukhari was hatched in Pakistan and that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) carried out the crime.
Inspector General of Police S.P. Pani told the media: "This terror crime was done by LeT and the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan."
Giving details, the police chief of the Kashmir Valley said: "Investigation has established that there was a campaign in certain social media platform against Shujaat Bukhari spreading hate campaign, malicious and intimidating...
"With the cooperation of service providers, tangible evidence has been collected that the individual behind the hate campaign belongs to LeT terrorist organization and all the content on social media was posted from Pakistan."
Pani said the person associated with publishing malicious articles against Bukhari was a Sheikh Sajad Gul alias Ahmad Khalid of Srinagar who is associated with the LeT and presently in Pakistan.
Police had issued pictures of three bike-borne individuals fleeing from the crime scene after gunning down Bukhari, editor of "Rising Kashmir" English daily, on June 14.
The identity of the accused was given as Muzaffar Ahmad alias Talha of Qazigund, who has been active since January 2018, Naveed Jatt alias Hanzullah of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, who had escaped from judicial custody, and Azad Ahmad Malik alias Dada of Bijbehara, who has been active since December 2016.
Bukhari was killed along with two of his security guards in Press Enclave area of Srinagar city.
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Mamata visits Bhabanipur EVM strong room, warns against counting irregularities
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee early Friday warned against any attempt to tamper with the counting process, hours after she visited an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur, alleging possible malpractice.
Banerjee, who emerged around 12:07 am after spending nearly four hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency housed in Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, said only one person would be allowed inside the designated counting area.
"Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installation of a CCTV camera for the media," she told reporters.
Stressing the need for transparency, she said, "It is essential to maintain transparency. People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter."
Sounding a stern note ahead of the May 4 counting, she added, "If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated."
On Thursday evening, Banerjee had reached the Bhabanipur Assembly segment counting centre, which houses the strong room for EVMs used in the April 29 polling, citing suspicion of tampering with the machines.
She entered the premises along with her election agent and remained inside for hours, even as Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port segment Firhad Hakim reached the spot but could not meet her.
"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn’t meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn’t allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said.
The development coincided with protests by TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, where they staged a sit-in alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms, leading to face-offs between TMC and BJP supporters.
Earlier in a video message, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on EVM strong rooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
Her remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state following a fiercely contested Assembly election, with parties closely monitoring arrangements and raising concerns over transparency.
