Akali leader and ex-Punjab Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal escapes assassination bid at Golden Temple, 'Pak angle being probed'

Gunshots fired at Sukhbir Badal during sewa at Golden Temple gate in Amritsar

In August, the Akal Takht declared Badal guilty of “religious misconduct” and ordered him to perform ‘sewadar’ duties at the Golden Temple.

Sukhbir Badal escapes assassination bid at Golden Temple, Pak angle being probed

The incident happened when Sukhbir Badal was serving as a guard at the Golden Temple entrance as part of a religious punishment. The shooter has been identified as Narain Chaura, a former Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist.

Condemning the incident, Akali leader Daljit Singh Cheema called it a "major security lapse" and demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. “Though I appreciate the policeman who took swift action, we have no faith in the government. The conspiracy behind this incident has to come out," he said.

Cheema claimed that Chaura was roaming around Golden Temple for the past two days. “What were the police waiting for? Why was he not arrested then,” he said.

Chaura has been booked in around 30 cases, including one under the Explosives Act on May 8, 2010, at the Civil Lines police station in Amritsar. He was also wanted in cases under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ropar.

Videos showed the wheelchair-bound Badal, in a blue 'sewadar' uniform and holding a spear, ducking for cover as the shooter whipped out the gun. However, temple officials near the Akali Dal leader were swift to react and overpowered the shooter.

BJP's spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi says, “Ever since the AAP government came to power in Punjab, their economic condition and law and order situation have deteriorated. 

Murder cases and the morale of criminals are at their peak.... Today, the firing at the holy Golden Temple and on a former Chief Minister (Sukhbir Badal)  shows to what extent the situation in Punjab has deteriorated. 

The main reason for this is the internal strife between the unofficial and official CM in AAP...  Around Rs 23,000 crore was invested in Punjab in 2021-22 which fell to around Rs 3,000 crore last year, which is a decline of about 80%...”. 

Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar says, "Due to the alertness and deployment of our Police, this attack attempt was foiled. Our personnel Rishpal Singh, Jasbir and Parminder displayed alertness and foiled the attempts. Narayan Singh Chaura (attacker), who has a criminal record, has been arrested. 

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia sharply criticized both the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the recent attack on former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal. Majithia claimed that the situation in Punjab was spiraling out of control following the assassination attempt on Badal. 

Sources said Chaura had crossed over to Pakistan in 1984 and was instrumental in smuggling large consignments of weapons and explosives into Punjab. 

In Pakistan, Chaura reportedly authored a book on guerrilla warfare and "seditious" literature. He was also accused in the Burail jailbreak case. He has already served a jail term in Punjab.

Case has been registered. There were adequate arrangements for Sukhbir Singh Badal's security...There were foolproof security arrangements...

Deployment for a protectee is made as per threat perception...So, there was heavy deployment...There are several cases registered against him (Chaura), arms were recovered from him in the past, we will have to check records...".  

Congress MP from Amritsar, Gurjeet Singh Aujla said: "This is highly condemnable and wrong. This should not have happened because that is the premises of Darbar Sahib. Nobody has the right to take law into their hand. The incident happening there is absolutely wrong..."