The gunman, who was caught on camera attempting to shoot former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah at a wedding in Jammu, revealed he had been plotting the attack on the 88-year-old National Conference chief for the past 20 years.
A man, who was caught on camera trying to shoot former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, at a wedding in Jammu on Wednesday, told the police that he had been planning to kill the 88-year-old National Conference (NC) chief for the past 20 years. Police ruled out a terror angle in the incident and said the shooter appeared to be drunk at the time of the incident.
Officials told India Today TV that the shooter, 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 past 20 years. It was my personal agenda. The weapon is my own, issued to me,” he said, adding that he was “lucky to survive.”
CCTV footage from the wedding shows Jamwal approaching Abdullah from behind and pointing a gun at him from point-blank range before firing a shot. The shot missed the target and the gunman was immediately overpowered by the former Chief Minister’s security detail before he could cause any harm.
According to officials, 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 firing occurred.
Later, the shooter on camera confessed to the police that he had been trying to kill Abdullah for the past 20 years.
Jamwal owns a few shops in the old part of Jammu. He 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 attack on the NC chief.
J&K DEPUTY CM SURVIVED SHOOTING
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary was also present at the spot when the incident took place. He miraculously survived the shooting.
The pistol used in the incident was seized from the possession of the gunman, the police said in a statement cited by news agency PTI.
Jamwal was found in a drunken state, police said, adding that the gunman appeared to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. He was also beaten by people, including some NC workers, present at the venue after the attempt on Farooq Abdullah’s life.
EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT
Rakesh Singh, an eyewitness cited by PTI, said the incident occurred when 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 shooter claimed to be the chairman of some hitherto unknown ‘Jagran Manch’ and was drunk,” he said.