Farooq Abdullah Attack: Who Is Kamal Singh Jamwal? Accused Contested Elections 15-20 Years Ago - More Details Emerge

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah had a narrow escape on Wednesday when a gunman, identified as Kamal Singh Jamwal, a resident of Purani Mandi, tried to shoot him. President of Purani Mandi Traders Association reportedly claimed that Jamwal had contested elections about 15-20 years ago on a ticket from the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party but had lost.

On Thursday, police said the weapon used in the incident was Jamwal’s licensed firearm and ruled out a terror angle, mentioned a report by HT. Officials also said the accused appeared to be drunk at the time of the incident during a wedding in Jammu.

Who is Kamal Singh Jamwal?

Aged 63-years-old – Kamal Singh Jamwal is a resident of Jammu’s Purani Mandi. He reportedly told investigators that he had been waiting for an opportunity to target Farooq Abdullah for the past 20 years.

Purani Mandi is a focal business centre of Jammu, where people come for shopping. Various social and cultural activities also take place at this spot.

Jamwal owns a few shops in Purani Mandi. He used to frequently travel to Srinagar, where he was believed to own property, reported news wire PTI.

“From what we know, he had shops here, and his nature appeared normal, just like any ordinary person. There was nothing unusual about him, and there had never been any such issue earlier,” President of the Purani Mandi Traders Association Ritesh Gupta told PTI.

Gupta said Jamwal had contested elections about 15–20 years ago on a ticket from the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party but lost. After that, he rented out the shops he owned in the area and largely lived on the rent collected from shopkeepers.

How Farooq Abdullah escaped the attack

The incident occurred when Farooq Abdullah, along with the deputy chief minister and the chief minister’s advisor, Nasir Aslam Wani, were leaving a marriage function at Greater Kailash on the outskirts of Jammu on Wednesday night (11 March), officials said.

CCTV footage from the venue showed the accused approaching Abdullah from behind and aiming a pistol at him from close range before firing.

The shot missed the former chief minister, and security personnel quickly overpowered the gunman before he could fire again.

What locals say

The incident has shocked the locals, many of whom described Jamwal as a well-behaved person and said they were unable to understand the motive behind the act.

A businessman named Arvind Verma, said he had been living and doing business in the area for nearly three decades and had never heard anything negative about Jamwal.

“I have been here for 25-30 years and this is the first time I have seen or heard of such a thing. When we came to know about it last night, it felt very wrong. This should not have happened,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying.

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