Harsimrat Kaur Demands Anti-Terror Probe Into Sukhbir Badal Attack

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) senior leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday launched a sharp counterattack against those calling the recent assault on SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal "stage-managed", saying he had received 150 stitches.

Addressing the mammoth gathering during the second phase of the SAD's Punjab Bachao campaign in Guruharsahai, Harsimrat Badal said she did not want to display the graphic photographs but was compelled to show them to underline the seriousness of the attack.

"I don't want to show these pictures," she said, before displaying the images on a tablet at the rally. Pointing towards Sukhbir Badal's injured arm, she said more than 150 stitches had been required to close the wound from both sides and from the inside.

She also displayed the photograph of an approximately one-and-a-half-foot-long sharp-edged sword used by the attacker.

"This dagger had a sharpened tip and went through the flesh," she said, questioning how anyone could dismiss the attack as stage-managed after seeing the extent of the injuries.

Also read: A Murder, A Jailbreak And Attacks On Sukhbir Badal: How A Thread Binds The 3

Harsimrat Badal said the latest attack in Nanded and the December 4, 2024 attack on Sukhbir Badal at Sri Darbar Sahib could not be treated as isolated incidents. She described both as part of what she called a deep-rooted conspiracy to eliminate the SAD president and weaken the party.

She also launched a direct attack on the handling of the December 2024 case and questioned the role of the Punjab police establishment.

Referring to the accused in the Golden Temple attack, Harsimrat Badal alleged that the man had links with an ISI-backed terror network and claimed that he had made statements about explosives and plans to cause destruction. She further alleged that a senior police officer was seen interacting closely with the accused.

"What could I say about the opposition parties and the Guru-Dokhi Sarkar?" she said.

Also read: Turban Came Off, Re-Tied: Moment Sukhbir Badal's Attacker Was Arrested

She alleged that neither the police commissioner nor the state police chief took strict action in the case, allowing the accused to come out of jail and move around freely within months.

According to her, this failure may have contributed to the recurrence of an attack on Sukhbir Badal.

"I feel the second attack took place again because of that," she said.

Harsimrat Badal said she had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding that the National Investigation Agency investigate both attacks and examine all possible angles, including alleged links between the accused, political actors, police officials and other forces behind the incidents.

She also questioned the circumstances surrounding the Nanded attack, saying Sukhbir Badal was coming down the stairs of Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji when the attacker, allegedly dressed as a Nihang Singh, first appeared to escort him before turning around and attacking him.

Calling it a cowardly act, she said such violence could not be carried out by a true Sikh at a place of worship. She said an NIA investigation was necessary to establish who was behind the attacks and whether anyone had sponsored or facilitated them.

She accused what she described as "Guru-Dokhi" and anti-national elements of attempting to destroy the hard-won peace of Punjab.

"Our strength, our pillar, our everything is our Guru," she said, challenging those attempting to weaken the party. "The more you try to attack us and finish us, the stronger we will emerge."

Harsimrat also used the rally to broaden her attack on the Punjab government, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party government of failing on law and order and alleging that "gangster rule" was prevailing in the state.