According to Indian media reports on March 11, a gunman opened fire on Abdullah, Chairman of the National Congress Party and former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, at a wedding event in Jammu on Wednesday night. Abdullah and Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Chaudhry miraculously escaped the fatal attack.
Abdullah was attending a wedding at the Greater Kailash Royal Park in Jammu when the incident took place. It is said that the gunman involved in the case, Singh, has been arrested by the police.
Sources revealed that during the police interrogation, Singh claimed that he had been planning to assassinate Abdullah for the past two decades.
According to reports, the 63-year-old resident of Jammu attacked the National Congress Chairman with a legal firearm in his possession. "I have wanted to kill Abdullah for the past 20 years. This is my personal goal. This weapon is mine and was issued to me," Singh said.
According to sources, Singh owns several shops in Jammu's old city and relies on shop rent to make ends meet.
"I got a chance today, but he (Abdullah) was lucky to survive," Singh told police after the failed assassination attempt on the Congress leader.
Singh, who was reportedly in a drunken state at the time of the attack, was restrained by security personnel after he attempted to assassinate the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Deputy Chief Minister and Abdullah were present at the scene
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Chaudhry was also with Abdullah at the time of the incident.
According to officials, Abdullah and Chaudhry came to congratulate Congress leader Chouhan on the wedding of his daughter and stayed at the scene for more than an hour.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reacts
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, son of Abdullah, expressed distress over the incident and thanked Allah for sparing his father's life and questioned the security arrangements, saying how a man with a loaded pistol was able to approach almost zero range and shoot the Nationalist Congress Party leader.
Omar Abdullah wrote on the
"Thanks to the close protection team who stopped the bullet, the assassination attempt was aborted. There are more questions than answers, including but not limited to, how someone could have gotten so close to an outgoing chief minister who was protected by the National Security Guard," he added.
(Original title: 'Wanted To Kill Farooq Abdullah For 20 Years': Accused In Jammu Wedding Firing)
