Pranab Mukherjee condemns killing of Kashmir journalist Bukhari

Mukherjee said he is shocked by the death of the journalist.

Mukherjee tweeted: "I am shocked at the gruesome murder of #ShujaatBukhari. Such mindless violence does not have any place in our country. My deepest condolences to his family & friends. His voice will never be silenced."

Thousands of mourners on  Friday thronged the north Kashmir town of Kreeri to attend the funeral of  Shujaat Bukhari, a senior journalist shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside his office on Thursday, media reports said.

According to reports, an ocean of people has poured in the ground adjacent to Haji Murad Bukhari RA's Shrine where Bukhari's  Janaza would be performed. 

Several important individuals including top politicians, bureaucrats, officials of police and civil administration are among the crowd present at the slain journalist's ancestral village.

The 52-year-old Editor-in-Chief of "Rising Kashmir" was killed by three terrorists on a bike. The assailants-their faces covered- were caught on  CCTV camera carrying weapons in a sack.

Bukhari was leaving his office in Srinagar's Press Enclave when he was shot at from close range. His two security officers- Hamid Chaudhary and Mumtaz Awan- were also killed in the attack.

This was the third assassination attempt on Bukhari, a journalist, respected for his balanced, independent and fearless views.

He is survived by two children, both in school, and wife and aged parents. His father was a school teacher.

English newspaper 'Rising Kashmir' published its daily edition on Friday even after losing its editor-in-chief Shujaat Bukhari in an assassination which also left two of his two personal security officers (PSOs) dead.