NANDED/CHANDIGARH :

 

SHIROMANIAkali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was injured in a ‘kirpan’ attack by a member of the Nihang order inside a gurudwara on the outskirts of Maharashtra’s Nanded town on Thursday, police said. The former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister, who escaped an attempt on his life at the Golden Temple entrance in December 2024, was rushed to hospital where he received two to three stitches on his right hand as he suffered a wound of around five centimetres on the forearm. The attacker, who hails from Pune, has been arrested. SAD leaders termed the attack, which took place around 1.45 pm at the Gurudwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji Mugat, about 15 km from Nanded, an intelligence failure and said the party chief was fine and in high spirits. Senior leaders, including Badal’s brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia, demanded a CBI probe into the matter. “A Nihang (member of a martial order of Sikhs) attacked Badal with a kirpan (ceremonial dagger) inside the gurudwara. The attacker has been taken into custody,” Nanded Superintendent of Police Neelabh Rohan told PTI.

 

However, later a senior official said, Jaspal Singh, the accused, is 60-62 years old and was serving as a sewadar or volunteer at Gurudwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji Mugat. The man, identified as Narain Singh Chaura, was overpowered by people present on the spot and handed over to the police. Chaura had walked towards Badal, who was sitting in a wheelchair due to a fractured leg, and pulled out a gun from his pocket. During preliminary questioning he referred to the drug menace in Punjab but his exact reasons for attacking Badal were yet to be ascertained, said Nanded Superintendent of Police Neelabh Rohan. Police officer Santosh Kendre, who was part of the special protection unit, was injured while protecting him. Badal was going down a flight of stairs at the time. Visuals showed Badal walking inside a hospital building with a cloth wrapped around his right hand. Badal is protected by Z plus category security. However, he is entitled to CISF cover only in Punjab and Delhi with a deployment of around 40 personnel. Punjab Police personnel were with him when the attack took place. Jaspal Sing holds commerce and law degrees, and is based in Pune with his family, said SP Rohan, adding that he was staying alone in Nanded. Earlier in the day, the 64- year-old SAD chief visited the Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, which is one of the five Takhts of Sikhism, along with wife and Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj said, “Unfortunately, such an incident has taken place at such a sacred place. A person who commits such an act cannot be a Sikh.”