Sukhbir Badal has been attacked yet again, two years after an attempt to assassinate him was made while he was serving his penance at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The latest attack, which took place on Thursday, was reported from Nanded in Maharashtra. The Akali Dal chief, who has top-tier Z-plus security cover due to high threat perceptions, was attacked during a visit to a gurudwara in the city. The 64-year-old leader has suffered an injury on his hand in the Nanded attack, and has been rushed to a hospital.
In 2024, Badal, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, 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.
In the video from the 2024 attack, a man was seen approaching Badal - who had his leg in a cast and was sitting in a wheelchair at the entrance of the golden gate with a spear in one hand - with a gun. A man standing near Badal showed alertness and held his hand. The gun went off but missed Badal and others near him and hit the wall.
The shooter, identified as Narain Singh from Gurdaspur district, was immediately arrested.
Below is the video of the attack from 2024.
"We cannot deploy cops in uniform because of religious feelings. It is difficult to frisk people too. We did what was possible and the result shows how prepared we were. I congratulate the officers for rising to the occasion," the then Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said at the time.
Sources in the security establishment said Narain Singh had links with Khalistani terrorist group Babbar Khalsa. He is considered the mastermind of the 2004 Burail jailbreak case in which four inmates escaped prison after digging a 94-foot tunnel.
