A man opened fire at Punjab’s former chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday while he was serving his penance at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The shooter was overpowered by people present at the spot and was immediately arrested by the police.
According to a report by India Today, the shooter has been identified as Narain Singh Chaura, a former Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist and a resident of Gurdaspur district about 75 km from Amritsar.
The report cited sources as saying that Chaura had crossed over to Pakistan in 1984 and smuggled large consignments of weapons and explosives into Punjab. He was also accused in the Burail jailbreak case and had already served a prison term in Punjab.
A report by Hindustan Times said Chaura has been facing several cases and has remained underground.
The video of the incident shared on various social media handles showed Chaura steadily walking towards Badal, who was sitting on a wheelchair due to his fractured leg, and pulled out a gun to fire at the SAD leader.
A ‘sewadar’ standing next to Badal responded quickly and pushed Chaura’s hand toward upside, saving Badal.
Donning blue ‘sewadar’ or volunteer uniform and holding a spear in one hand, Badal was seen sitting on wheelchair at the entrance of the Golden Temple, serving his punishment pronounced by Sri Akal Takht Sahib for “mistakes” committed during the party’s rule in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.
A small board hung around his neck, acknowledging his “misdeeds”.
The 62-year-old SAD leader has been asked to serve as a ‘sewadar’, wash dishes and clean shoes at Golden Temple and several other gurdwaras.
The motive behind the attack is not yet know. However, SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema blamed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government, saying: “I would like to ask the CM of Punjab [Bhagwant Mann], where do you want to take Punjab?… The attacker was caught on the spot. I also thank the security personnel here. Had they not acted promptly…There should be a high-level judicial enquiry into the incident… We will continue with our ‘seva’…”
“I thank Guru Nanak that he saved his ‘sevak’…This is a huge incident, what era is Punjab being pushed into?” Cheema further said.
A report by NDTV quoted former SAD MP Naresh Gujral as saying that the attack on Badal shows criminals were roaming freely in Punjab and that the law and order situation in the state has broken down.
“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,” the report quoted Gujral as saying.
With inputs from agencies.
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Man fires shots at former Punjab CM Sukhbir Badal at Golden Temple, arrested
