SRINAGAR: BJP contested Saturday police claims that former J&K MLA Faqir Mohammad Khan had died by suicide two days ago, alleging it was “murder” that must be investigated.
Khan had contested the 2024 assembly elections on a BJP ticket from pocket borough Gurez, losing by only 1,132 votes. Police claimed initial findings suggested the 64-year-old had shot himself Thursday at his high-security home in Srinagar’s Tulsibagh. In J&K, even former MLAs get police cover depending on threat assessments. Khan had been with PDP and Congress before joining BJP in 2020.
“I met him (Khan) a day before his death. He did not seem depressed. He had a smile on his face. After his death, the rifle was found between his legs. If he had fired himself, it would have hit his neck or head. There were no personal security guards there. We feel this is not suicide. He has been murdered as part of a conspiracy,” BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur, a neighbour of Khan, said Saturday.
Khan is survived by his wife and three sons, one of whom is a BJP functionary in Gurez. In the 2024 elections, BJP contested from 19 seats in the Valley and lost deposits in 18, except in Gurez. There, Khan gave governing National Conference candidate Nazir Ahmad Khan a tough fight. Defence minister Rajnath Singh had travelled to Gurez to bolster Khan’s campaign. If BJP had bagged Gurez, it would have been its first-ever seat in the Valley.
Thakur stressed the need for police to set up an SIT to probe Khan’s death, describing him as an “influential” BJP member. “We also request that his bank accounts be frozen for time being,” Thakur said, explaining this would help unravel the conspiracy.