Journalist shot at in office, critical in ICU

Bleeding profusely, he was first taken to SMHS hospital where he was operated upon. He was later shifted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura where he is battling for his life in the ICU. His condition is serious, say the doctors attending on him.

Eyewitnesses said three unidentified men had come to the newspaper’s office and asked for Zafar. They spoke to him for at least 20 minutes and are reported to have asked him to sign on a paper. Then one of them suddenly pulled out a pistol and fired several rounds.

The office was smeared with blood stains. The editor of Kashmir Images, Bashir Manzar, said he was not in the office when the incident took place. The police cordoned off the area after the incident but no arrests had been made till late in the evening.

Srinagar’s Senior Superintendent of Police R R Swain was seen questioning the eyewitnesses. No outfit has claimed responsibilty for the attack. Manzar said he had no idea who could be behind the incident. ‘‘He joined our paper recently; I don’t understand why he was chosen as the target and who shot him,’’ he said.