The Jammu and Kashmir Police late on Thursday released the CCTV footage of three bike-borne men suspected to have shot dead Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari earlier in the evening. The police sought the public’s help in identifying the men, who had their faces covered.

Bukhari was shot in the head and abdomen multiple times as he left his office in Srinagar’s press enclave. His personal security officers Hamid Chaudhary and Mumtaz Awan were also killed in the attack, NDTV reported.

‘Ensure safety of journalists’

Several politicians and journalists have condemned Bukhari’s murder. The Editors Guild of India said the journalist’s assassination “is a grave attack on press freedom and democratic voices”.

The Press Club of Jammu, which held an urgent meeting on Thursday night, urged the state government to ensure the safety of journalists. “The 90s-like situation has once again seems to be returning in the Kashmir valley when the journalists were used to be attacked and assassinated,” said Press Club President Ashwani Kumar. The club’s secretary general, Zorawar Singh Jamwal, expressed his shock at the journalist’s murder.