J&K High Court lawyer, television panellist shot dead by unknown gunmen in Srinagar

Advocate Babar Qadri, a prominent Jammu and Kashmir High Court based lawyer and television panellist was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Srinagar on Thursday evening.He was shot dead in Hawal area of Srinagar on Thursday evening..He was driven to Sher – i – Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences after the incident. Local news agency GNS quoted Medical Superintendent Dr Farooq Jan as saying that Babar Qadri had received bullet wound and he was brought dead to hospital..It may be noted that just two days ago, Qadri had expressed apprehension that there can be a threat to his life, after he was accused of working for agencies. He had posted a screenshot of a message where one Shah Nazir had said he was being projected by agencies, and that’s why he was given change on TV debates. Babar Qadri had replied to the message saying that he will send the screenshot of the message to cyber cell for lodging FIR..Posting on Twitter, he had said, “I urge the state Police administration to register FIR against this Shah Nazir who has spread wrong campaign that I work for agencies. This un true statement can lead to threat to my life.”.Qadri, a resident of Srinagar’s Hawal area, had been practicing law in Jammu and Kashmir for more than a decade. He was suspended by the Kasmir Bar Association a few years ago. He was the president of Lawyers Club of Kashmir. Earlier this month, the Bar Association had rejected his application to lift the suspension..Commenting on the development, he had said, “When I formed a ‘Lawyers Club’, I was accused of dancing on the tunes of Indian Agencies and now when I work for unity and want to join, the passage is blocked for me.”.The former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the attack and said Qadri’s death was a “tragedy”..Apart from being a lawyer, Babar Qadri was also an author and a TV panellist, who regularly appeared on discussions on TV news channels."Qadri in 2018 had expressed threats to his life in Srinagar, Kashmir on a Facebook post. Lately he was not very regular on TV debates as well", Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul tweeted..Photojournalist Basit Zargar tweeted pictures from Advocate Qadri's funeral.Following the attack, security in various parts of Srinagar was stepped up.