Srinagar, Jun 25 (IANS): The owner of an Urdu daily newspaper, arrested On Monday in a nearly three-decade-old case, was on Tuesday released on bail by a court here.

Ghulam Jeelani Qadri, editor/printer/publisher of 'Afaq', was picked up from his home here in connection with a case registered against him in 1990 when he ran the JAK (Jammu and Kashmir) news agency, police said.

Police said Qadri, 62, had been declared an 'absconder' since the registration of the case against him, in which eight other local journalists were named. Three of them have died since then.

Releasing Qadri against a bail bond of Rs 20,000, the court asked the station house officer (SHO) concerned to explain the action taken in the case since the FIR was lodged on December 15, 1990.

The SHO has also been asked to explain how Qadri was twice issued passports during this period when the police said he had been an absconder.

The next hearing of the case will be held on July 31.