Kashmiri lawyer Babar Qadri was shot dead at his home on Thursday three days after he desperately sought police help on Twitter. In his SoS tweet posted on 21 September, Qadri had said that he faced threats to his life after he was accused of being an agent for the Indian government.
According to police, Qadri was shot dead by a single bullet. He was rushed to SKIMS Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.
Only three days ago, Qadri had taken to the microblogging site seeking police help as he faced threats to his life. Sharing a screenshot of a tweet where a Twitter user had accused of being a mole for the Indian agencies, Qadri had written, “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.”
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.@ZPHQJammu pic.twitter.com/utkurYpRzk
— Babar Qadri Truth (@BabarTruth) September 21, 2020
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned Qadri’s assassination. He tweeted, “The assassination of Babar Qadri this evening is tragic & I unequivocally condemn it. The sense of tragedy is all the more because he warned of the threat. Sadly his warning was his last tweet.”
The assassination of Babar Qadri this evening is tragic & I unequivocally condemn it. The sense of tragedy is all the more because he warned of the threat. Sadly his warning was his last tweet. @BabarTruth
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) September 24, 2020
Qadri frequently appeared in TV debates conducted by pro-government Indian TV channels and often wrote articles for newspapers. Only a few days ago, Budgam Development Council Chairman Bhupinder Singh was shot dead.