A shooting incident took place this morning in the Golden Temple of Amritsar in which the Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was targeted when doing penance. The suspect was overpowered immediately by people around him.
Sixty-two-year-old Badal, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, has been fulfilling ‘sewadar’ duties following a religious punishment issued by the Akal Takht for various “mistakes” made during his party’s governance from 2007 to 2017. As part of his penance, Badal has been serving at the Golden Temple, which includes washing dishes and cleaning shoes.
Badal had been stationed at the entrance of the temple for the past two days, sitting in his wheelchair with a cast on his leg, dressed in a blue ‘sewadar’ uniform and holding a spear. The incident occurred around 9 am when he had just taken his position at the temple gate. The shooter, identified as Narain Singh from Gurdaspur, walked up to Badal and then pulled out a firearm. Fortunately, a passerby intervened at the opportune moment, saving Badal from the shot, although it missed him and hit the wall. The attacker was arrested, and the police are investigating the motive behind this attack.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann reacted to the incident, praising the state police for their swift action and termed it a successful attempt to foil a possible conspiracy against Punjab. “I strongly condemn the attack on Sukhbir Badal ji and have instructed the police to conduct an immediate investigation,” said Mann on X.
Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar singled out the vigilance of officers Rishpal Singh, Jasbir, and Parminder Singh, who played key roles in averting the attack. Singh, with previous criminal history, is now under investigation, with police calling on the public to keep peace.
The police said security was never easy at the Golden Temple since deploying uniformed personnel had their sensitive religious connotation attached to it. They were adequately equipped to deal with the situation.
According to sources in the security establishment, Narain Singh was suspected to have links with the Khalistani terrorist group Babbar Khalsa and was involved in a jailbreak case in Burail prison in 2004 in which many high-profile prisoners fled from the prison.
Of late, Sukhbir Badal has been candidly accepting the mistakes of the past, which included the remitting of punishment to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a blasphemy case during SAD’s rule. The punishment by Akal Takht came after Badal was declared ‘tankhaiya’ (guilty of religious misconduct).
Former SAD MP Naresh Gujral said the law and order situation in Punjab is so that criminals seem to be having a free run. “It is unfortunate that this attack took place and we are thankful that Sukhbir Badal escaped uninjured.
BJP leader Vijay Sampla also reacted similarly, saying, “Any attack on a sewadar at the Golden Temple is an affront to the holy place itself.” Congress MP Manish Tewari called Badal’s service one of humility and demanded a thorough probe.
Aam Aadmi Party’s Aman Arora defended the present law and order situation in the state, citing that the police acted effectively in this isolated incident. He asked the critics to reflect upon the past governance of Akali Dal as to what led to the present circumstances of Badal.
