A lock hangs on the brown door, further secured with ropes passing through the handle, leading to the house of Kamal Singh Jamwal in Jammu’s Purani Mandi. On the adjacent wall are posters of models selling undergarments, put up by a shop next door.
The inconspicuous door doesn’t tell half the story, as per those in the neighbourhood, who know Jamwal as a member of one of the most prominent families, of one of the city’s oldest areas, whose father Ajit Singh was once a senior police officer.
Now, as they search for answers for what prompted the 63-year-old to open fire at former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday night, sending shock waves through the Union Territory, there are hints of a man allegedly struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction, who after several failed business ventures had been dabbling in politics.
On Wednesday night, Jamwal came up from behind as Abdullah was leaving a wedding in Jammu’s Greater Kailash area, along with senior National Conference leaders, cocked his revolver at his head and pulled the trigger. However, Jamwal missed, allegedly because he was inebriated, and Abdullah’s security along with others present wrestled him to the ground, leading to his arrest. In the jostling, one more shot went off, though no one was hurt.
Jamwal claimed he had been trying to shoot Abdullah “for 20 years”, saying when asked why, “Yeh mera maqsad hai (This is my mission).” During interrogation, police sources said, the 63-year-old said he held Abdullah responsible “for the spread of terrorism” in J&K. Jamwal also said that the revolver he used was licensed and belonged to him.
Jamwal’s wife and son, a graduate, are believed to have locked the Purani Mandi house and left soon after his arrest. Jamwal also has two daughters, one of them a doctor, who are both married. The wedding of one of them took place just six-seven months ago, say neighbours.
Jamwal took the Panthers Party route to politics initially, said sources, and even contested the Jammu Municipal Corporation elections, but lost. After 2014, he started participating in programmes, especially religious, organised by Sangh Parivar organisations. (A senior functionary of an organization affiliated to the RSS stressed that Jamwal had no official association with the Sangh or its linked organizations.) Jamwal would also claim to be chairman of an outfit called the ‘Dharmik Jagran Manch’.
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As per neighbours, Jamwal, who dropped out of school after Class 10, got addicted to alcohol at a young age. He allegedly started taking drugs after several business ventures failed, including a leased hotel in Himachal Pradesh’s Manali, a hotel in Ramban, and an eatery in Purani Mandi. The family, however, had enough money, living off rent from shops and other property owned by them in the Purani Mandi area.
Jamwal reportedly also has land and a house in Kulgam in Kashmir, which was gifted to his father by Dogra King Hari Singh for his services. The family lived for a long time in the Valley before returning to Jammu and settling down in Purani Mandi. As per a close relative, they continue to visit Kashmir at least once a year.
A neighbour adds that Jamwal’s addiction was one reason “we always avoided him”. One associate, however, finds himself facing the heat after Wednesday’s incident: Shatrujeet Singh, whose son’s wedding reception was the venue where Jamwal attacked Abdullah.
Jamwal claims he was present at the function as Shatrujeet’s “cousin”. However, Shatrujeet, member of another prominent Rajput family of Jammu, who runs educational institutions and hotels, says Jamwal was no more than a former neighbour.
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Shatrujeet and family lived earlier in Purani Mandi, where they have ancestral property, but moved to the upscale Channi Himmat area some time back.
Shatrujeet told The Indian Express that Jamwal recently visited their home when he was not present, and his mother extended him an invite for the wedding. “After that, Jamwal called me up several times asking about the wedding preparations, but I avoided him,’’ he said, worried that his son’s wedding now figured in an attack on a former CM.
