New Delhi: Investigations into the murder of senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani lone have found that Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was involved in it because of his moderate approach.

The probe into his gunning down, which has been taken on with topmost priority, has pointed to involvement of Ghazi Baba, who was later shot dead by security forces in an operation earlier this year, official sources said.

Lone was shot dead by terrorists on May 21, 2002, at a ceremony marking the 12th death anniversary of Mirwaiz Farooq.

The sources said investigations found that Ghazi Baba had received a directive from across the border to kill Lone as they feared that he would hold talks with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who began his visit to the state the very same day.

The claim of the state police was further substantiated by documents recovered from the place where Ghazi Baba killed.

The information was decoded from the documents that were seized from the encounter site, which further substantiated the claim of the state police, the sources said.

Indications were also about the involvement of a senior separatist leader in the criminal conspiracy to eliminate Lone, they said and added that action would be taken once the State police came out with irrefutable evidence.

PTI