Suspected militants shot a prominent lawyer dead and TV debate panelist in Hawal area of old city Srinagar on Thursday evening.
The lawyer was identified as Babar Qadri.
A police official said the gunmen fired upon Qadri around 6:25 pm from a point-blank range, killing him on the spot.
Medical Superintendent of SKIMS hospital, Dr Farooq Jan said that Qadri had received a bullet wound and was declared dead at the hospital.
Besides practicing as a lawyer, Qadri also took part in TV debates as a panelist. His social media posts often generated controversies.
Three days ago, he had tweeted a screenshot and urged the police in Jammu to register an FIR against a Facebook user for spreading "wrong campaign" against him.
"I urge the state Police administration to register FIR against this Shah Nazir who has spread wrong campaign that I work for agencies. This untrue statement can lead to threat to my life, Qadri had written in his last tweet.
Reports said soon after the attack the area was cordoned off and security forces launched a manhunt to nab the attackers.
No militant organization claimed the responsibility for the attack till this report was filed.
The advocate becomes second political or social activist to be shot dead by militants in the past 24 hours.
Bhupinder Singh, a member of the block development council in Khag area of Budgam district, was shot dead by militants at his ancestral village Dalwash on Wednesday night.
(With inputs from PTI)
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