The man accused of attempting to shoot former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah at a wedding in Jammu has claimed that he had been planning to kill the National Conference (NC) president for the past two decades. Police have not confirmed the claim but say there is no terror angle in the incident.
WHO IS THE ATTACKER?
The accused, identified as 63-year-old Jammu resident Kamal Singh Jamwal, told the police that the firearm used by him was his licenced gun. “I wanted to kill Farooq Abdullah for the last 20 years. It was my personal agenda. The weapon is my own, issued to me,” he said.
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He is a resident of the Purani Mandi area and owns a few shops in the old part of Jammu. Jamwal told investigators that he survives on rent from his shops. “Today I got the opportunity, but he (Farooq Abdullah) was lucky to survive,” he told the police after the failed attempt on the NC chief’s life.
Jamwal was found in an inebriated state, officials said. Officials said the accused appeared to be inebriated at the time of the incident. He was also beaten by people, including some National Conference workers, present at the venue after the attempt on Abdullah’s life.
CCTV FOOTAGE SURFACES
CCTV footage from the venue shows a man approaching Farooq Abdullah from behind and pointing a gun at him from point-blank range.
However, he was immediately overpowered by the former chief minister’s security detail before he could cause any harm.. The incident took place at Hotel Royal Park in the posh Greater Kailash locality on the outskirts of Jammu.
DEPUTY CM WAS ALSO PRESENT
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary was also present at the scene when the incident took place.
According to officials, Farooq Abdullah and Choudhary had come to greet a National Conference leader on the occasion of his son’s wedding. Officials said the two leaders had been at the venue for more than an hour before the incident took place.
The pistol used in the incident has been seized from the possession of the accused, the police said in a statement cited by news agency PTI.
EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT
Rakesh Singh, an eyewitness cited by PTI, said the incident took place when Farooq Abdullah and other prominent guests were leaving the wedding venue.
“Abdullah had dinner with the guests. He was moving out of the venue when the gunman opened fire, but luckily, he was not hurt. The accused claimed to be the chairman of some hitherto unknown ‘Jagran Manch’ and was intoxicated,” he said.
OMAR ABDULLAH’S REACTION
Expressing anguish over the incident, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Farooq Abdullah’s son, Omar Abdullah, said the attempt made on his father’s life was only blocked by the close protection team of his ‘Z+’ security detail.
“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 & discharge a shot. It was only the close protection team that deflected the shot & ensured that the assassination attempt failed. There are more questions than answers at the moment, including but not limited to how someone was able to get this close to a Z+ NSG protected former CM,” he wrote on X.
‘SECURITY LAPSE’ SAYS CHOUDHARY
Deputy CM Choudhary described the incident as a “security lapse”, while police officials said a detailed probe is going on.
“It is a very serious security lapse. When the former chief minister, deputy chief minister and the advisor are present at a function, and if a person can enter inside with a gun, then you can imagine what the security arrangements were like,” he was quoted as saying by PTI. Police officials said a detailed investigation is underway.
– Ends
(With inputs from PTI)
Published On:
Mar 12, 2026 02:29 IST
