New Delhi, June 23 (IANS): Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the lynching of a senior police officer marked a "new low" in Jammu and Kashmir and it was "heartbreaking" to see the state "being pushed back several decades" due to the failure of the BJP-PDP government.

"The brutal lynching of Deputy SP Md Ayub Pandit marks a new low. Pained beyond words at the horrific incident," said Gandhi on his official Twitter account.

"Heartbreaking to see Jammu and Kashmir being pushed back several decades because of the complete failure of the PDP-BJP government," he added.

A mob lynched the senior police officer in Srinagar, triggering outrage and forcing Chief Minister Mehmooba Mufti to dub the crime a "murder of trust".

The battered body of Deputy Superintendent Mohammad Ayub Pandit was recovered on Friday morning outside the Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of the Old City, the very spot where he was set upon by a killer mob the night before.