The police have identified the killers of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari who was shot dead here on June 14. Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Naveed Jatt, along with two local terrorists, murdered Bukhari, police sources said on Wednesday.

Naveed Jatt is a Pakistani who had escaped police custody from a Srinagar hospital on February 6 this year.

His two accomplices involved in the murder are locals from south Kashmir areas, it is learnt.

The Editor-in-Chief of English daily “Rising Kashmir”, Bukhari, was shot dead by terrorists when he came out of his office in Press Enclave and was boarding his car. Two of his security guards were also killed in the incident.

Police earlier arrested a local who had escaped with a pistol belonging to one of Bukhari’s guards and two mobile phones belonging to the journalist.

“He appears to be a drug addict. He is still in our custody but he does not appear to be part of the terror conspiracy to assassinate Bukhari,” the source said.

Police have also identified a blogger who uploaded malicious posts against Bukhari. “He is a Kashmiri militant presently in Pakistan from where he is operating the blog,” the source said.

The police had released the pictures of three suspects a day after Bukhari was shot dead. The pictures were obtained from CCTV footage, showing three men on a motorbike. The man, riding the bike, can be seen wearing a helmet, while one of the two pillion riders has got his face half-covered with a mask.

Naveed Jatt was the prime suspect from day one.

Jatt  had escaped from Srinagar hospital in Feb

Naveed Jatt had escaped from a Srinagar hospital on February 6. He was helped by gunmen who waited for his arrival at the hospital.

Naveed, along with five other prisoners, was taken to the hospital for a medical checkup. At least two or three terrorists were waiting for him there. Someone handed a pistol to Naveed, which he used to shoot two policemen before managing to escape through a crowded hospital complex in broad daylight. His escape was caught on CCTV camera.

The 20-year-old Lashkar e Taiba commander had been at the Srinagar Central Jail since 2016, two years after arrested from south Kashmir.