SRINAGAR: Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Thursday termed the firing incident involving National Conference president and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah as unfortunate and questioned how such an episode could occur.
Reacting to the incident, Choudhary said the assailant was swiftly overpowered by security personnel attached to him and guards deployed with senior National Conference leader Nasir Aslam Wani before being taken to a police station.
He described the incident as serious given Abdullah’s stature as a former Chief Minister and Union Minister, while noting that it was fortunate that the veteran leader was not harmed.
“Such an incident involving a leader who has served as both Chief Minister and Union Minister is unfortunate,” Choudhary said.
The Deputy Chief Minister credited the prompt response of the security personnel for preventing the situation from escalating further.
“The credit goes to my security detail and the security guards of Nasir Aslam Wani who quickly overpowered the assailant,” he said.
According to Choudhary, the accused told authorities that he had fired at Abdullah “of his own will,” suggesting that he acted independently.
“You can gauge the situation from the fact that it was my security personnel who took the assailant to the police station,” he added, saying that targeting a senior leader like Abdullah raises several questions.
