Shot fired at ex-J&K CM Farooq Abdullah from 'point-blank range', suspect held
A man opened fire from a close range at former J&K chief minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah in Jammu while he was attending a wedding on Wednesday night.
According to reports, Abdullah was accompanied by J&K Deputy CM Surinder Choudhary when a gunman opened fire. Both Abdullah and the deputy CM escaped unhurt.
The incident took place in the posh Greater Kailash locality of Jammu as Abdullah and the deputy chief minister were leaving a marriage function.
The suspect, identified as Kamal Singh Jamwal, a resident of Purani Mandi, had been waiting outside the venue and approached Abdullah from behind with a pistol.
Jamwal was overpowered by two security personnel -- an inspector and a sub-inspector -- but managed to fire one shot before being disarmed.
He was taken into custody for questioning, officials said.
"The security deployed with the protectee immediately swung into action, thwarted the attempt and took the accused into custody, who was later identified as Kamal Singh, son of Ajit Singh, a resident of Purani Mandi in Jammu," police said in a statement.
Jamwal, who is in his 70s, was reportedly under the influence of alcohol. The pistol used in the incident was seized.
Expressing anguish over the attack, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, "Allah is kind. My father had a very close shave."
In a post on X, he said 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 & 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," the chief minister said.
Describing the incident as a "security lapse", Choudhary expressed concern over the incident and told reporters that they should ask the security and the police how such a major lapse happened.
"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 said.
Providing details on the incident, Superintendent of Police (City South) Ajay Sharma said in a post on X that a detailed investigation is underway and that there was no terror angle.
"There has been a firing incident using a licensed weapon at a marriage party where ex-CM JK Dr Farooq Abdullah was also present. It falls in JD (jurisdiction) of PS (Police Station) Gangyal. Accused is arrested and detailed investigation is going on. There is no terror angle," Sharma said in a post on X.
According to the officials, Farooq Abdullah and Choudhary had come to greet party leader B S Chouhan on the marriage of his son and were at the venue for more than an hour.