Wanted to kill Farooq Abdullah for 20 years, says accused in Jammu wedding firing case

The accused was reportedly intoxicated at the time of the attack and was overpowered by security personnel after he attempted to assassinate the former CM

• Farooq Abdullah survives gun attack at Jammu wedding
• Attacker Kamal Singh Jamwal said he waited 20 years for the opportunity
• Security team deflected the shot; accused was reportedly intoxicated

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National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah miraculously escaped a deadly attack after a gunman opened fire at him while he was leaving from a marriage function in Jammu on Wednesday night.

Deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary and advisor to CM Omar Abdullah, Nasir Aslam Wani, were accompanying Abdullah when the incident occurred.

Abdullah had gone to attend a marriage ceremony at the Royal Park in Greater Kailash, Jammu.

The accused, identified as 63-year-old Kamal Singh Jamwal, son of Ajit Singh and a resident of Purani Mandi in Jammu, has been taken into custody. The pistol used in the crime was seized from his possession.

During questioning, he told police that he had been waiting for an opportunity to target Abdullah for the past 20 years.

At the time of police interrogation, Singh said he attempted to attack Abdullah with his own weapon. “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, CNN-News18 reported.

“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.

The accused was reportedly intoxicated at the time of the attack and was overpowered by security personnel after he attempted to assassinate the former CM.

Reacting to the incident, Omar Abdullah said, “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 added.