Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal was shot at while performing punishment duty outside the Amritsar Golden Temple here on Wednesday. The bullet hit the wall, missing Badal, who was in a wheelchair wearing the signature blue sewadar uniform and a small board around his neck as part of the punishment.
The man, who was reportedly identified as Narain Singh Chaura by the police, was overpowered by people standing outside the Golden Temple. The shooter, whose motive of the attack is yet to be revealed, was promptly taken into custody by enforcement authorities.
Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said, “Narain Singh Chaura has been arrested and an FIR has been registered against him. The weapon used in the attack has been recovered.” Bhullar also remarked that despite the sufficient security arrangements at the shrine being sufficient, police cannot frisk visitors in order to safeguard religious sentiments.
Since Tuesday, Badal had assumed volunteer duty as a “sewadar” outside the Golden Temple. This came one day after the Sikh clergy pronounced the religious punishment or “tankhah” for Badal.
#WATCH | Punjab: Bullets fired at Golden Temple in Amritsar where SAD leaders, including party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, were offering 'seva'. The attacker, identified as Narayan Singh Chaura by the Police has been overpowered by the people and caught.
— ANI (@ANI) December 4, 2024
(Video Source: PTC News) pic.twitter.com/b0vscrxIL8
SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami condemned the attack and announced that an investigation “through our sources” will be launched. AAP MP Raghav Chadha weighed in, too. "We strongly condemn the incident... Violence and such attacks have no place in a civil society. By God's grace, Sukhbir Badal remained unscathed," said Chadha.
An audacious attack captured on video
The attack occured in front of media cameras covering Badal on his second day of penance outside the temple. Various footage captured showed the shooter approaching Badal, brandishing a gun out of his pocket. People near the attacker who spotted the weopon grabbed the his hands, and the bullet discharged during the scuffle hit the wall behind the Akali Dal leader.
The Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht earlier this week directed Badal to serve as a sewadar at the Golden Temple, along with washing dishes and cleaning shoes. Other Akali leaders, who were pronounced guilty by the religious body, were also directed to clean the washrooms of the temple.
The punishment was for alleged mistakes committed by the Akali Dal government in Punjab in the ten years from 2007, including pardoning Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2007 blasphemy case.
