Former Jammu & Kashmir High Court Bar President Mian Qayoom arrested in murder case

The Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) has arrested Mian Abdul Qayoom, a senior lawyer and former president of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association (HCBA), in connection with the 2020 murder of advocate Babar Qadri..Qadri, a lawyer and television panellist, was shot dead inside his Srinagar home in September 2020 by unknown persons. Two unidentified gunmen had gone to Qadri's house by posing as clients, before shooting him. They had then absconded. .J&K High Court lawyer, television panellist shot dead by unknown gunmen in Srinagar.Before his death, Qadri had posted a video on Facebook criticizing Qayoom and his political activities within the Bar Association. In the video, Qadri accused Qayoom of using threats and pressure to influence Bar politics since 1990 and called for honest and dignified political conduct.Two days before he was shot dead, Qadri had also posted on Twitter that he apprehended a threat to his life. In his Twitter post, Qadri attached a screenshot of a message from one Shah Nazir, who praised Mian Qayoom for the sacrifices he made for lawyers and the public while criticising Qadri.The police initially formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe Qadri's murder, which was later handed over to the State Investigation Agency (SIA). In September 2023, the SIA announced a cash reward of ₹10 lakh for information about those involved in Qadri's killing..In 2022, police raided the residences of Qayoom and two other lawyers in connection with the case. The police also seized digital devices and some documents from their residence.Qayoom was arrested in the case on Tuesday morning after he was summoned by the SIA.Qayoom had served as the president of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Srinagar for over two decades. He is the father-in-law of Justice Javed Iqbal Wani, a sitting judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.In August 2019, Qayoom was placed under preventive detention under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India. His detention was later upheld by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, which cited his "secessionist" tendencies.He remained detained until mid-2020 when the Central government decided not to extend his detention beyond August 6, 2020.