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Farooq Abdullah attacker says wanted to 'kill' J&K leader for 20 years
“I wanted to kill Farooq Abdullah for the past 20 years. It was my personal agenda," the attacker Kamal Singh Jamwal told police.
A 63-year-old man arrested for opening fire at former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah at a wedding function in Jammu told police he had been planning to kill the veteran leader for nearly two decades, calling it his “personal agenda”, officials said on Thursday.
The accused, identified as Kamal Singh Jamwal of Jammu, allegedly fired a shot at Abdullah from point-blank range while the National Conference chief was leaving a marriage function in the Greater Kailash area on Wednesday night. The shot missed its target after members of Abdullah’s security detail intervened and quickly overpowered the gunman.
“I wanted to kill Farooq Abdullah for the past 20 years. It was my personal agenda. The weapon is my own, issued to me,” Jamwal told the police, adding that he considered himself “lucky to survive”.
Police said the weapon used in the incident was Jamwal’s licensed firearm and ruled out a terror angle. Officials also said the accused appeared to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the attack.
Shot fired at wedding venue
The incident occurred when Abdullah was leaving the wedding venue after attending the ceremony for over an hour. Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and senior National Conference leader Nasir Aslam Wani were accompanying him at the time.
CCTV footage from the venue shows the accused approaching Abdullah from behind and pointing a pistol at him from close range before firing a shot. The bullet missed the former chief minister, and security personnel immediately restrained the gunman before he could fire again.
Police said the pistol used in the incident has been seized and the accused taken into custody.
Leaders escape unhurt
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said his father had a “very close shave” and credited the security team with thwarting the attack.
“Allah is kind. My father had a very close shave. The details are sketchy at the moment but what is known is that a man with a loaded pistol was able to get within point blank range and discharge a shot. It was only the close protection team that deflected the shot and ensured that the assassination attempt failed,” Omar Abdullah said in a post on X.
He added that there were “more questions than answers” about how the attacker managed to get so close to a Z+ protected former chief minister.
Deputy chief minister Choudhary, who was present at the venue, described the episode as a serious security lapse, questioning how an armed individual could enter an event attended by senior leaders.
Investigation underway
Eyewitnesses said the firing occurred as Abdullah and other guests were exiting the venue after dinner. The accused was later beaten by some people present at the function before being taken away by security personnel.
Police officials said senior officers rushed to the spot after the incident and a detailed investigation has been launched to determine the circumstances and motive behind the attack.
National Conference leaders said Abdullah, Choudhary and Wani were safe. “Alhamdulillah, they are safe and fine,” party spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said after speaking with the leaders.
