Sukhbir Singh Badal, the leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), was performing his penance at the Golden Temple gate in Amritsar this morning when a guy opened fire on him. The individuals on the scene overcame the shooter.
The Akal Takht declared the ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) for Badal and several other Akali Dal leaders for “mistakes” made during the party’s leadership in Punjab from 2007 to 2017. Badal, 62, is currently carrying out his’sewadar’ duties. At Golden Temple and a number of other gurdwaras, he has been asked to do the duties of a “sewadar,” clean shoes, and wash dishes.
Badal has been sitting outside the Golden Temple gate for the last two days while wearing a blue “sewadar” outfit and holding a spear in one hand. The leader of the Akali Dal is in a wheelchair and has a cast on his leg.
Shortly after Mr. Badal had taken the “sewadar’s” position at the Golden Temple gate, at approximately nine in the morning today, the incident took place. Narain Singh, a resident of Gurdaspur district, which is roughly 75 km from Amritsar, has been identified as the shooter. Images taken from the location show him carefully making his way to the gate. Then he pulls out a gun in a hurry. Just in time, a man standing close to Mr. Badal notices him and takes his hand. The gun goes off, strikes the wall, and misses Mr. Badal and those around him. The shooter has been arrested and police are investigating the motive behind the shocking attack.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has said the promptness of the state police foiled a “conspiracy to defame Punjab and Punjabis”. “The police achieved great success by arresting the assailant on the spot with their promptness. I appreciate the promptness of the police, I strongly condemn the attack on Sukhbir Badal ji. I have issued strict instructions to the police to immediately investigate the incident and submit a report,” he said in a post on X.
Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said alert police officers Rishpal Singh, Jasbir and Parminder Singh managed to foil the attack. “Narain Singh has a criminal record. We have registered a case and the incident is probed from all angles. I appeal to people to maintain peace.”
The police officer said deploying cops at the Golden Temple was a challenging task. “We cannot deploy cops in uniform because of religious feelings. It is difficult to frisk people too. We did what was possible and the result shows how prepared we were. I congratulate the officers for rising to the occasion.”
Security establishment sources claim that Narain Singh is associated with the Khalistani terrorist organisation Babbar Khalsa. He is regarded as the mastermind of the 2004 Burail jailbreak case, in which four prisoners dug a 94-foot tunnel and broke out of the facility. The four inmates included Devi Singh, a murderer, Babbar Khalsa commander Jagtar Singh Hawara, and the killers of previous commander Minister Beant Singh, Paramjit Singh Bheora and Jagtar Singh Tara.
Prior to the Akal Takth, Sukhbir Badal acknowledged his errors. Among these errors was the pardoning of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the leader of Dera Sacha Sauda, in a 2007 blasphemy case while the SAD was in power. The punishment was handed down by the Akal Takht about three months after he was found guilty of religious misbehaviour (tankhaiya).
Former SAD MP Naresh Gujral said this attack shows criminals were roaming freely in Punjab and that the law and order situation has broken down. “It is very unfortunate that this attack took place, we are thankful to the Almighty that Sukhbir Badal was not harmed. Our party has been saying time and again that the law and order situation in Punjab is deplorable. The government has failed on this front and nothing is being done. You can see an attack at the gate of the Golden Temple,” Mr Gujral told news agency.
Former Union Minister and BJP leader Vijay Sampla called the attack regrettable and stated that an attack on Golden Temple’s sewadar is tantamount to an attack on Golden Temple itself. Manish Tewari, a Congress MP, stated that Mr. Badal was carrying out his sentence with humility. “This is really depressing. He is unharmed by God’s grace. The guilty must be punished, and this needs to be looked into.
Punjab’s law and order situation is fine, according to Aman Arora of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party. “This is a specific instance. Police in Punjab were on the lookout and ready to handle this situation. Everything is under your control. On the Opposition’s criticism, he said, “I don’t want to politicise it, but if they want, I would ask Akalis what they did for 10 years because of which Sukhbir Badal has to perform these duties.”
