A Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir court on Thursday issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against former J&K chief minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah.
According to Deccan Herald, the warrant was issued after an exemption plea filed on his behalf in connection with the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) financial irregularities case was rejected.
The order came from the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in Srinagar during a hearing scheduled for framing of charges.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is handling the case.
JKCA ‘fraud’: What happened during an earlier hearing
Earlier on March 6, a local court had ordered framing of chargesheet against Farooq Abdullah and other accused in the alleged Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) scam, PTI news reported.
Regarding the framing of charges, the court said that the essential ingredients of the offense under Sections 120-B, 406 and 409 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) were prima facie made out against the accused.
“Therefore, the accused will be charged with the commission of the said crimes. However, the charge can be made suo moto at any stage of the hearing of the case before the pronouncement of the judgment after the statement of the material witnesses has been recorded,” the resolution read.
In a five-page order, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Tabasum, Srinagar, then directed that the matter be listed on March 12 for indictment.
Assassination bid for Farooq Abdullah
The court order came a day after an assassination bid was filed against Farooq Abdullah. According to PTI, the 88-year-old former chief minister was targeted at point-blank range on Wednesday evening as he was leaving the conjugal pavilion in the Greater Kailash area on the outskirts of Jammu.
“I am fine and God saved me,” Abdullah told PTI on Thursday morning.
Recounting the moments of the attack, Abdullah said he was about to step out of the wedding pavilion after the bride arrived when he heard what he initially thought was the sound of firecrackers.
“When the bride arrived, then we took permission from them and started going home. I had just come out of the wedding pavilion (mandap) and was walking when I heard a sound like a firecracker. I thought someone must have burst the firecracker because people often burst it at weddings,” he said.
However, Abdullah said he later felt a burning sensation but did not realize at the time that it was a gunshot.
“Then I felt a kind of burning, but at that moment I did not realize what had happened. In the meantime, they (the security guards) quickly pushed me into the car, and when they were seated, they said to me: Sir, it was actually a gun.” They said the person fired two shots at me,” Abdullah said.
The attacker, identified as 63-year-old Kamal Singh Jamwal, reportedly told investigators that he had been waiting two decades for the opportunity to kill Abdullah because he had a “personal motive.”
“I don’t know the man, nor has anyone ever told me anything about him. As for his motive…how could I know what it could be?” he told reporters at his residence.
