A KHALISTAN sympathiser associated with the radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa on Wednesday opened fire at Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar when the former Deputy CM of Punjab was sitting on “punishment” guard duty. The assailant was overpowered by three police personnel in civic dress who were positioned there for the security of the Akali leader. In a video, wheelchair-bound Sukhbir Badal was seen in a blue ‘sewadar’ uniform holding a spear and at point-blank range as the shooter whipped out the gun. However, the policemen were swift to react and overpowered the assailant. The shooter has been identified as Narain Singh Chaura, allegedly a former militant, who faces many cases and was accused in the sensational Burail jailbreak case in Chandigarh in 2004, where four undertrials, three of them assassins of former Chief Minister Beant Singh, escaped from the jail by digging a tunnel.

 

At the time of the crime, Chaura slowly approached Sukhbir Badal, donning a blue ‘sewadar’ uniform and sitting at the entrance of the Golden Temple with a plaque card around his neck as part of the ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment), and opened fire at Badal. However, a police official in plainclothes standing near Badal quickly grabbed the attacker’s hands and pushed him away. In the melee, a bullet hit the shrine’s entrance wall behind Badal, who escaped unhurt. Soon other security personnel and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) task force members also intervened. The former Deputy Chief Minister is a Z+ protectee. Police official Rashpal Singh noticed Chaura first as he is a former terrorist and has a criminal history.

 

When Chaura whipped out his weapon, Assistant Sub-Inspector Jasbir Singh and another police official, Parminder Singh, held Chaura’s hands and as a result, the bullet went upwards, said the commissioner. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Harpal Singh told the media that proper security arrangements were in place and he was himself present on site. “Chaura was present in the temple yesterday also. On Wednesday morning, he came to the temple as usual and paid obeisance before opening fire at Badal,” he told media. Responding to the incident, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Harjinder Singh Dhami said, “We will investigate this through our sources well. I think he (the attacker) has been nabbed and taken away by the police...Guru Ram Das saved Sukhbir Badal...We are looking into the security arrangements.”