Jammu man held for bid to assassinate Farooq Abdullah told cops he had wanted to kill him for 20 yrs

88-year-old former J&K CM, who gets Z+ protection, escaped unhurt after his security personnel deflected firearm. Arrested Kamal Singh Jamwal is a businessman.

Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah was shot at Wednesday, with his security personnel deflecting the firearm and later overpowering the man | Screengrab from X/ANI

Bhopal: Kamal Singh Jamwal, 63, in police custody after he attempted to shoot at former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, 88, in Jammu Wednesday evening, had been looking to kill him for the last two decades, police sources have told ThePrint.

Senior officials in Jammu & Kashmir said Jamwal is a businessman from Jammu holding properties such as educational institutions and real estate in the old part of the city.

According to sources in the Union Territory Police, Jamwal told personnel at Gangyal police station that he had been planning to kill Abdullah for 20 years and found an opportunity when he was present at the same wedding venue as him.

Screengrab of the shooting attempt recorded on video | X

Abdullah, patron of the ruling National Conference, had a narrow escape after Jamwal shot at him while he was leaving the marriage function, as one of his security personnel deflected the firearm.

Abdullah gets Z-plus security from the National Security Guard, the highest level of protection given to civilians in the country.

Footage from a CCTV installed at the venue, released late Wednesday, shows Jamwal appearing out of nowhere, entering the security cordon, and attempting to fire.

#WATCH | Jammu, J&K: An incident of firing occurred at a function where JKNC chief Farooq Abdullah and Deputy CM Surinder Choudhary were present. One person has been arrested. No injuries have been reported.

CCTV visuals showing the moment when the incident took place. pic.twitter.com/pnoD3f9fRJ

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2026

While Abdullah escaped unhurt, deputy CM Surinder Choudhary, who was accompanying him, suffered a splinter injury but is out of danger.

Jamwal was quickly overpowered by the NSG team and later handed over to the Jammu police. He is currently under arrest after an FIR was filed.

Jammu South Superintendent of Police, Ajay Sharma, said the weapon used in the offence was licensed in the name of Jamwal.

“Jamwal was attending the event as it was his cousin’s son’s wedding and the former CM was among the invited guests. He pulled out his 0.32 bore pistol and attempted to shoot,” Sharma told ThePrint, adding that the motive behind the attempt on Abdullah’s life was not immediately clear.

Responding to the incident, Abdullah’s son, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, said the attempt on his father’s life raised questions about how the assailant managed to get so close to the former CM.

“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 & 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,” he wrote on X.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)