"God Saved Me" — Farooq Abdullah Narrows Escapes Assassin's Bullet at Jammu Wedding
At approximately 10:30 PM on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, National Conference president and former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was leaving a wedding reception at Royal Park in Jammu's Greater Kailash area when a man stepped out from the crowd behind him, raised a revolver, and fired.
A single National Security Guard commando deflected the weapon at the last instant. The bullet missed. Abdullah — 87 years old, a three-time Chief Minister, a former Union Minister, and one of the most protected politicians in India under Z+ NSG security cover — walked away unhurt.
The accused, 63-year-old Kamal Singh Jamwal, was immediately overpowered, beaten by the crowd, and taken into police custody. What he told investigators afterwards sent shockwaves through the country.
"I have been trying to kill Farooq Abdullah for the last twenty years," Jamwal told police during questioning. "It was my personal mission to kill him. Today I got the opportunity but he survived. I have a personal weapon which I used in the firing." The Washington Post
He said it without remorse. Sitting on a chair. The video circulated on social media within hours.
How Close It Was: An Eyewitness Account
The CCTV footage of the attack has been verified by ANI and is now widely circulated. The sequence it captures is chilling in its simplicity and its proximity.
"We were all sitting together. Dr. Sahib said it was time to leave," said Rakesh Singh, an eyewitness at the venue. "As we were standing up, a man approached from behind and pointed a revolver at his head. A security officer intervened in time, pushing the gun up, and it was discharged." Wikipedia
Abdullah recounted the moment himself: "The assailant had managed to get right behind my neck. At the last minute, he was overpowered by the security personnel, including the NSG. I was immediately put into my car and driven away safely," he said, adding simply: "I am fine and God has saved me." Wionews
The wedding, as it happens, was not a public rally or a political event. It was the wedding ceremony of the daughter of the National Conference's Legal Cell President Wikipedia — a private family function, attended by senior political figures including J&K Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and adviser to the CM Nasir Sogami.
Who Is Kamal Singh Jamwal?
Police have initiated a detailed probe into the antecedents of the 63-year-old Jamwal, examining his personal, social and possible organisational links to ascertain the full motive behind the firing incident. Bloomberg
What is already known: Jamwal is a native of Jammu, born in 1963, a businessman by profession who owns several shops in Jammu's Old City area in the Purani Mandi neighbourhood. Wikipedia He is not a known militant operative, has no recorded terrorism links, and — significantly — the weapon he used was not smuggled. A .32 revolver was recovered from his possession. It was a licensed weapon. The Washington Post
Initial investigation found that the shot was fired while the accused was reportedly in an inebriated state NPR — though investigators are being careful not to reduce this to a simple case of drunken violence given Jamwal's explicit twenty-year premeditation statement on video.
The motive declared by Jamwal is personal — a two-decade-old grievance against Farooq Abdullah. What that grievance is, and whether any organisation or network is connected to it, is the central question police are now urgently probing.
Omar Abdullah's Alarm: "More Questions Than Answers"
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Farooq's son, drove straight to his father's residence after learning of the attack. His public statement was a careful balance of relief and anger — directed not at the attacker, but at the system that allowed the attacker to get so close.
"There are more questions than answers at the moment, including how someone was able to get this close to a Z+ NSG-protected former CM," Omar wrote on X. He added that his father had a "very close shave" and that it was only the close protection team that deflected the shot and ensured the assassination attempt failed. Wionews
The question Omar Abdullah is asking is the right one — and it demands a direct answer. Z+ NSG security, the highest level of personal protection available in India, is supposed to make this kind of attack impossible. Multiple layers of security personnel, advance sweeps of venues, perimeter control — all of it should have ensured that a 63-year-old businessman with a revolver could never get within arm's reach of a protected protectee at a semi-public function.
Following the incident, top officials immediately began reviewing the security of all central government protectees in Jammu and Kashmir. Measures to further tighten protection are underway, including the upgrading of jammers used in convoys. Wionews
Political Reaction: Condemnation Across Party Lines
The political response has been swift and united in condemnation — regardless of party affiliation.
J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra described the attack as "deeply disturbing" and raised "serious concerns about the prevailing security scenario in the region," calling for accountability from those entrusted with maintaining law and order. The Washington Post
J&K Cabinet Minister Satish Sharma confirmed that the government considered the incident a "serious security lapse" and stated that foolproof security must be provided to leaders who have made the greatest sacrifices for the country. Wikipedia
Kashmir's chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also condemned the attack and called for a thorough independent probe.
The Larger Security Question: J&K's Uneasy Normal
This incident arrives at a particularly sensitive moment for Jammu & Kashmir. The Abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the conversion of the state to a Union Territory, and the restoration of elected government under Omar Abdullah in late 2024 were collectively projected as a new chapter of normalcy and stability for the region.
An assassination attempt on the father of the sitting Chief Minister — at a private wedding, in the heart of Jammu city, by a local resident with a licensed weapon — is not the image of normalcy that either the J&K administration or the Central government can afford.
The incident is already prompting a broader security review of all Z+ protectees across the Union Territory and a hard look at how private social functions are secured when senior political figures attend them.
The Bottom Line
Farooq Abdullah is safe. An NSG commando's quick hands and quicker reflexes are the reason. Had that intervention been a second slower, India would be waking up to the assassination of one of its most consequential political figures — a man who navigated the darkest years of J&K's militancy, held the state together through multiple crises, and survived to see his son become Chief Minister.
Kamal Singh Jamwal sits in custody at Gangyal police station with a case of attempt to murder registered against him The Washington Post — the weapon recovered, the video viral, the confession on record.
But the investigation has barely begun. A man with a twenty-year grievance, a licensed revolver, and access to the personal space of India's most heavily guarded politicians is not a lone wolf story. It is a security failure story. And J&K — and the nation — deserves to know every chapter of it.
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