NATIONAL Conference President and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had a miraculous escape when a gunman opened fire on him after coming from behind while Abdullah was leaving a marriage function here on Wednesday night, officials said. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and advisor to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Nasir Aslam Wani, were accompanying Abdullah when the incident occurred. The accused has been identified as 63-year-old Kamal Singh Jamwal, son of Ajit Singh, and a resident of Purani Mandi in Jammu, who told police that he was waiting for an opportunity to target Abdullah for the last 20 years. On Thursday, Jamwal was produced in the city court amid tight security and the court remanded him to five-day police custody for questioning. Police sought his custody stating that further interrogation was necessary to ascertain the motive behind the attack and to verify whether the accused had any links with any organisation or individual. The National Conference President described his narrow escape as an act of divine intervention, while raising serious questions over the "total absence" of police deployment at a high-profile wedding where the incident took place. “I am fine and God has saved me,” Abdullah said adding, ‘I do not know that man, nor had anyone ever told me anything about him. As for what his motive was... How would I know what it could have been?” he told reporters.

 

The attack dominated proceedings in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, leading to sharp exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition benches. The Government is taking the assassination bid with utmost seriousness, Leader of the House and Union minister J P Nadda said. The statement came in response to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s allegation that there seemed to be a conspiracy to eliminate Abdullah - who has Z+ category security - and blaming revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood for the incident. Thanking Allah for saving the life of his father, Omar Abdullah 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 a point-blank range and discharge a shot.” Police said an attempt was made on the life of Abdullah when he was attending a marriage ceremony at the Royal Park in Greater Kailash, Jammu. A CCTV camera footage showed the gunman approaching Abdullah from behind and firing a shot at him from very close range. The accused, who was overpowered by two officers of security wing of the J&K Police, an inspector and a sub-inspector, was found in an inebriated state, officials said. Abdullah and Choudhary had come to greet party leader B S Chouhan for the marriage of his daughter. They were at the wedding venue for more than an hour, the officials said. In his post on X, Omar 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 and discharge a shot.”