Yogesh
Jammu, Mar 12 :
A day after escaping an assassination attempt, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Thursday said he was saved by God and that he doesn’t know the attacker. The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister escaped unhurt after a man attempted to open fire at him at a wedding ceremony in Jammu last night.
Speaking with reporters in Jammu today, Farooq Abdullah, per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that he does not know the attacker and had no personal dispute with him. “I don’t know this man at all. He has said that he had been waiting for 20 years and had a personal grudge, but I don’t know what his purpose was. I have never tried to harm anyone,” he said.
He said he initially mistook the gunfire for firecrackers before being informed by his security personnel that a man attempted to open fire at him. “I felt a sudden heat but did not immediately realise that gunshot had been fired. My security personnel quickly put me inside my car. Then they told me that the man fired two bullets from his revolver,” he said.
The NC president also raised questions over the absence of adequate security arrangements at the venue. “To say there was a security lapse is a big statement, but the fact is there was no police arrangement there. Many high profile people had come to attend the wedding, so there should have been protection,” he said.
“I thank Allah that my security personnel were there. Our ministers and MLAs also gave me courage at that time,” he said.
He added that he also received a phone call from Union Home Minister Amit Shah after the incident and that he assured a thorough probe would be conducted into the incident—(KNO)