Farooq Abdullah faces non-bailable warrant in J&K cricket scam case day after assassination bid

A court in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, issued a non‑bailable warrant (NBW) against former J&K Chief Minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Thursday.

According to Deccan Herald, the warrant was issued after rejecting an exemption application filed on his behalf in connection with the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) financial irregularities case.

The order came from the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Srinagar, during a hearing scheduled for the framing of charges.

The case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

JKCA ‘scam’: What happened during earlier hearing

Earlier on March 6, a local court directed the framing of charges against Farooq Abdullah and other accused in the alleged Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) scam case, PTI news reported.

On the question of framing of charges, the court said the essential ingredients of the offence under sections 120-B, 406 and 409 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) were prima facie made out against the accused.

"Therefore, the accused persons shall be charged for the commission of the said offences. However, addition of charges can be done suo moto at any stage during the trial of the case before pronouncement of judgment after recording of statement of the material witnesses," the order read.

In a five-page order, Chief Judicial Magistrate of Srinagar, Tabasum, had then directed that the matter be listed on March 12 for framing of charges.

Assassination bid on Farooq Abdullah

The court's order came a day after an assassination bid was made on Farooq Abdullah. According to PTI, the 88-year-old former chief minister was targeted at point-blank range on Wednesday night while leaving a marriage pavilion in the Greater Kailash area on the outskirts of Jammu.

"I am fine and God has 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, after that we took permission from them and we started leaving for home. I had just stepped out of the wedding pavilion (mandap) and was walking when I heard a sound like a firecracker. I thought someone must have burst a firecracker, because people often burst them at weddings," he said.

Abdullah, however, said he had later felt a burning sensation but did not realise at the time that it was a gunshot.

"Then I felt a kind of burning sensation, but at that moment I did not realise what had happened. In the meantime, they [security personnel] quickly pushed me into a car, and when they were seated, they told me, 'Sir, it was actually a pistol.' They said that the person had fired two shots at me," Abdullah said.

The assailant, identified as 63-year-old Kamal Singh Jamwal, reportedly told investigators he had been waiting two decades for an opportunity to kill Abdullah as he had a "personal motive"

"I do not know that man, nor had anyone ever told me anything about him. As for what his motive was... how would I know what it could have been?" he told reporters at his residence.