Who Is Kamal Singh Jamwal? Man Who Attempted to Kill Farooq Abdullah After ‘Planning For 20 Years’

New Delhi: The man arrested for attempting to assassinate Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah has been identified as Kamal Singh Jamwal, a resident of Jammu who claimed he had been waiting for two decades to carry out the attack.

Kamal Singh Jamwal, aged around 63 is a resident of the Purani Mandi area of Jammu and the son of Ajit Singh. He allegedly opened fire at Abdullah during a wedding function in the Greater Kailash locality of Jammu on Wednesday night. Farooq Abdullah narrowly escaped the attack after security personnel intervened and overpowered the assailant.

Police said the accused managed to fire one shot from a pistol before being subdued by security officials deployed with the former chief minister. The weapon used in the incident has been seized and Jamwal has been taken into custody for further interrogation.

Officials further said the accused appeared to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. Despite the gunshot being fired at close range, no one was injured as security personnel acted swiftly and restrained him.

During questioning, Jamwal confessed that he had harboured a personal grudge against the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader for the past 20 years. “I wanted to kill Farooq Abdullah for the past 20 years. It was my personal agenda. The weapon is my own, issued to me,” Jamwal told the police, adding that Abdullah was “lucky to survive”.

Eyewitnesses also claimed that Jamwal described himself as the chairman of a little-known organisation called “Jagran Manch.” Reports suggest that he sustains himself through rental income from several shops he owns in Jammu.

According to the timeline of events, at around 10:10 PM, Farooq Abdullah, Surinder Choudhary, and advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Sougami were leaving the marriage venue when the accused, Kamal Singh Jamwal, allegedly opened fire.

Within a minute, at 10:11 PM, Jamwal was overpowered and apprehended by the close security detail of the National Conference chief, which included personnel from the National Security Guard and the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

By 10:18 PM, the 63-year-old accused was handed over to Gangyal Police along with his licensed .32 bore pistol. Shortly afterwards, at 10:30 PM, senior police officials, including Bhim Sen Tuti, reached the Gangyal Police Station to assess the situation. At 10:50 PM, police formally registered a case of attempt to murder against the accused.

Later in the night, at around 11:05 PM, a National Conference MLA was seen leaving the residence of Farooq Abdullah. By midnight (12:00 AM), the Jammu and Kashmir Police issued an official statement confirming that the firing incident was being treated as an assassination attempt on the former Chief Minister.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the incident as an assassination attempt and questioned how the attacker was able to get within range despite the high-level security cover.

“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 asked to get within range to discharge shot. It was only the close protection team that deflected the shot and ensured that the assassination attempt was foiled,” Omar Abdullah said in a post on X.

He further raised concerns about security arrangements around his father, who is protected under the Z+ security category by the NSG.

According to the FIR, Jammu and Kashmir Police have registered a case under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for attempt to murder. The accused has also been booked under Section 3/25 of the Arms Act for illegal possession and use of a firearm.

The FIR has been registered at Gangyal Police Station under FIR No. 29, following the shocking incident that took place at a wedding function in Jammu on Wednesday night.

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