Farooq Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and president of the National Conference, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt during a wedding in Jammu on Wednesday night.
The shooting incident took place in Greater Kailash when Farooq Abdullah and Deputy Prime Minister Surinder Chaudhary were leaving a wedding party, as HT reported earlier.
The horrific attempt was captured on a surveillance camera, and footage showed the gunman approaching Abdullah from behind and shooting him from a very close range.
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Abdullah security thwarted the attempt and arrested the accused – identified as 63-year-old Kamal Singh Jameel -.
“Security forces deployed with the protected person immediately moved in, foiled the attempt and arrested the accused, who was later identified as Kamal Singh,” news agency PTI quoted the police as saying in a statement.
Who is the attacker?
The accused has been identified as Jamwal, son of Ajit Singh and a resident of Purani Mandi in Jammu, who told police that he had been waiting for an opportunity to target Abdullah for the past 20 years, officials said.
The accused, who was overpowered by two officers of the JK Police’s security wing, an inspector and a sub-inspector, was found in a drunken state, officials said.
The incident occurred when Abdullah and Chaudhary were leaving a party where they had come to receive party leader BS Chouhan on the occasion of his daughter’s marriage. Officials said they remained at the wedding venue for more than an hour.
The police said that the pistol used in the crime was recovered from the possession of the accused.
National Conference spokesman Tanveer Sadiq said that all three National Conference leaders are fine.
“I spoke to Dr Farooq Abdullah Sahab, Deputy Chief Minister Surender ji and Nasir Aslam Wani, thank God, they are safe and sound,” the previous HT report quoted him as saying.
Senior National Conference leader and advisor to the Prime Minister Nasir Aslam Wani told the media: “He tried to fire his gun at Dr. Farooq Abdullah, but God saved him. God did a great favor. Jammu and Kashmir’s Deputy Chief Minister was also present at the wedding and Dr. Farooq Abdullah was also present,” Wani said.
Expressing pain over the attack, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Farooq Abdullah’s son Omar Abdullah said: “God is kind. My father was a very close shaver.”
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“It was only the close protection team that blocked the shot and ensured that the assassination attempt failed. There are more questions than answers at the moment including but not limited to, how did someone manage to get close to a Z NSG protected former president,” the Prime Minister said.
