Sukhbir Badal Attacked With Kirpan By Nihang Sikh At Gurudwara In Maharashtra

Akali Dal chief and former deputy chief minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal was attacked in Maharashtra's Nanded on Thursday. Sources have told NDTV that Badal was attacked by a Nihang Sikh with a kirpan at Mata Sahib gurudwara. The attacker has been taken into custody.

Badal has been rushed to a private hospital in Nanded after the attack. A security personnel, Santosh Kendre, deployed in Badal's security was also injured in the attack.

A statement from the Nanded Superintendent of Police said that the attack took place at Gurdwara Mata Sahib at village Muga in Nanded. "Former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister S. Sukhbir Singh Badal was on a tour of Nanded district. Today, August 13, 2026, at around 1:50 PM, after completing his darshan at Gurdwara Mata Sahib Deva Ji, village Muga, Taluka Mudkhed, a Sikh sevadari attacked him with a dagger, injuring him," the SP office said.

NDTV has learnt that the attack took place at the gurudwara when Badal was walking down the stairs after offering prayers. Badal had gone to the gurudwara with his family. Badal's wife and Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal was with him when the attack took place. 

The attacker has been identified as Jaspal Singh, a Nihang Sikh. According to sources, the attacker was working at the gurudwara for the past two years.

Read | Sukhbir Badal Attack Live Updates

A video after the attacked showed Badal walking with a saffron cloth wrapped on his right hand.

According to sources, the attacker attempted to stab Sukhbir Badal in stomach, but the security personnel intervened and tried to stopped him. 

Akali Dal sources told NDTV that Sukhbir Badal has suffered an injury on his hand, but it is not life threatening. He is being treated at a private hospital in Nanded. Badal has got stitches on his hand after the attack.

Shortly after the attack, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis spoke to the Nanded Superintendent of Police and sought details. Fadnavis has directed the police to investigate the motive behind the attack. 

The cowardly attempt on Sardar Sukhbir Singh Badal Ji's life is deeply condemnable and a direct threat to Punjab's peace and security.

Violence and intimidation have no place in our holy shrines. The perpetrators must be exposed and punished, and those responsible for the…

— Ravneet Singh Bittu (@RavneetBittu) August 13, 2026

On December 4, 2024, former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal survived an assassination attempt outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar. He was unharmed, and the gunman was quickly overpowered and arrested on the spot. 

Badal was attacked at the Golden Temple while he was performing 'sewadar' duties after the Akal Takht pronounced the 'tankhah' (religious punishment) for him and several other Akali Dal leaders for "mistakes" committed during the party's rule in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.

Sukhbir Singh Badal has a top-tier Z-plus security cover due to high threat perceptions.