Kashmir lawyer’s killing case: Ex-Bar president Mian Qayoom ‘questioned’ in Srinagar

Former J&K Bar Association president detained in connection to lawyer's assassination, sparking speculation and ongoing investigation.

Mian Qayoom, former president of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, was detained and questioned by J&K police on Tuesday in relation to the assassination of lawyer Babar Qadri in 2020 in Srinagar.

The J&K Police’s Special Investigation Agency (SIA) has not officially confirmed the arrest of Mr. Qayoom or divulged any details till late Tuesday evening. However, several Srinagar-based news outlets quoted SIA officials and suggested “Mr. Qayoom was formally arrested by a team of the SIA in Srinagar”.

Also Read | Advocate Qadri assassins posed as clients, say police

Unknown gunmen shot dead advocate Babar Qadri at his residence in Srinagar’s Zahidpora, Hawal, on September 2, 2020. The gunmen posed as clients and opened fire from a close range at the lawyer, who would take part in debates on television and on social media platforms. Mr. Qadri had been critical of Mr. Qayoom’s functioning as the Bar association president and would criticise him on social media platforms.

A reward of ₹10 lakh was announced by the SIA in 2023 to gather information about the killers of the 40-year-old lawyer. Earlier in 2021, the J&K police claimed that Saqib Manzoor, a Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, was involved in the killing of Qadri. Manzoor was killed during an encounter in Srinagar along with another militant ‘commander’.

However, in 2022, the police raided houses of three lawyers in Srinagar in the case, including the residence of Mr. Qayoom in Srinagar’s Barzulla area. The police had also zeroed in on five locals, including two jail inmates, in Srinagar in the case.

Mr. Qayoom, also father-in-law of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court judge Justice Javed Iqbal Wani, served as HCBA president for over two decades.