20 arrested in DSP Ayub Pandith's lynching case: IGP

Srinagar: Twenty people have been arrested in connection with the lynching of Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy SP) Ayub Pandith during the intervening night of June 23 and 24 on the occasion of Shab-e-Qadr outside historic Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muneer Ahmad Khan said today.

One of the accused Sajjad Gilkar, who had joined militancy since he went missing from June 29, was killed in an encounter with security forces in central Kashmir district of Badgam on July 12, the IGP told a crowded press conference here. To a question whether chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, who addressed the congregation at the Jamia Masjid on that night, will also be questioned, the IGP said if the need arises, everyone will be questioned. However, he said, the investigation is still going on and more arrests could not be ruled out. (UNI)