Gunman Points Pistol at Farooq Abdullah's Head at Jammu Wedding; Bullet Fired Into Air as Security Intervenes

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah narrowly escaped assassination on Wednesday night when an attacker pointed a loaded pistol at his head from behind during a wedding ceremony in Jammu — with alert security personnel grabbing the gunman's hand at the last moment, causing the bullet to discharge harmlessly into the air. The entire chilling sequence was captured on CCTV.

Abdullah was attending the wedding ceremony at Royal Park in Jammu, where Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Chaudhary was also present, when accused Kamal Singh Jamwal approached him from behind and pressed a loaded pistol to his head. Security personnel on duty reacted instantly — grabbing Jamwal's hand before he could aim accurately and wrestling him to the ground. A shot was fired in the struggle but struck no one. Jamwal was apprehended on the spot and handed over to Jammu Police.

During initial interrogation, Jamwal made a startling disclosure — he claimed he had been planning to kill Farooq Abdullah for the past 20 years and that the assassination was his sole motive. The pistol recovered from him was found to be a licensed firearm that he had possessed for several years. Jamwal is a businessman who owns several shops in Jammu's old city, with no immediately apparent political affiliation.

The incident has ignited a fierce political and administrative controversy over the failure of Farooq Abdullah's Z+ NSG security cover — one of the highest protection categories in India. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed alarm on X, asking pointedly how an armed man with a loaded pistol had been able to reach point-blank range of a Z+ protectee. Deputy CM Surinder Chaudhary went further, calling it a "major security lapse" and alleging that local police had not been deployed at the Royal Park venue where the attack took place.

Farooq Abdullah, 86, is one of the most enduring figures in Jammu and Kashmir's political history. He served as the state's Chief Minister three times — from 1982 to 1984, 1986 to 1990, and 1996 to 2002 — and represented the state in the Lok Sabha while also serving as Union Minister for Energy in the Manmohan Singh government from 2009 to 2014. That a leader of his stature and security classification came within seconds of being shot at a public social event has sent shockwaves through the political establishment.