Police question 4 J&K journalists, search their residences

J&K POLICE on Wednesday searched the residences of four journalists in the Valley and called them to the police station for questioning. While the journalists were let go in the evening, they have been asked to be present again on Thursday.

This came a day after IGP Vijay Kumar said that they were observing some local mediapersons for “spreading fake news”.

On Wednesday morning, police reached the residences of journalists Showkat Ahmad Motta, Hilal Mir, Azhar Qadri and Shah Abass, and carried out a search. The police seized their cell phones, laptops and other electronic gadgets, and asked them to be present at Kothibagh Police Station in Srinagar.

At the station, the four were questioned for several hours before they were let go late evening. Motta was the editor of a magazine, Kashmir Narrator, which hasn’t been published for the last two years. Mir, Qadri and Abass write for local, national and international publications.

A senior officer told The Indian Express that the journalists were questioned regarding the publication of a blog “Kashmirfight”.