Man opens fire at Akali Dal’s Sukhbir Badal at Golden Temple in Amritsar

Sukhbir Badal was serving as a guard outside the temple entrance as part of a religious punishment

December 4, 2024

Man tries to shoot Sukhbir Badal at Amritsar’s Golden Temple, arrested

A man opened fire at Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Wednesday. The person was overpowered by people present on the spot.

Sukhbir Badal, who was serving as a guard outside the temple entrance as part of a religious punishment is safe.

The shooter has been identified as Narain Singh Chaura, allegedly a former militant, who faces many cases and has remained underground.

Police arrested the man who allegedly was attempting to shoot SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Videos showed the wheelchair-bound Badal, in a blue ‘sewadar‘ uniform and holding a spear, ducking for cover as the shooter whipped out the gun. However, temple officials near the Akali Dal leader were swift to react and overpowered the shooter.

VIDEO | Punjab: A man opened fire at Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal at the entrance of Golden Temple, Amritsar. The person was overpowered by people present on the spot. More details are awaited.#PunjabNews #SukhbirSinghBadal
(Full video available on PTI… pic.twitter.com/LC55kCV864
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 4, 2024

Earlier, five high priests directed senior Akali leaders, including Sukhbir Badal, to perform as a ‘sewadar’ by washing dishes and cleaning shoes as part of ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) for the “sins” committed by his government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.

The Akal Takht also revoked the ‘Panth Rattan Fakhr-e-Qaum’ (pride of community) tiled bestowed on Sukhbir’s father Parkash Singh Badal in 2011. Senior Badal was punished posthumously for being party to ‘anti-Sikh’ decisions made during his tenure as Chief Minister.

The punishment for Sukhbir Badal was announced by Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh from the ramparts of the Akal Takht Sahib at the Golden Temple, following a joint meeting of the jathedars of the five takhts, the highest Sikh religious authority.

The high priests also instructed the Akali Dal’s working committee to accept Sukhbir Badal’s resignation as party chief within three days. Additionally, they directed the formation of a panel to conduct elections for the post of president and other office-bearers within the next six months.

This decision comes three months after Badal was declared ‘tankhaiya‘ (guilty of religious misconduct) for his role in failing to address the 2015 sacrilege incidents and pardoning Sirsa dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

As part of his punishment, Sukhbir Badal was ordered to serve as a guard at the entrance of the Golden Temple on December 3 and 4, wearing a guard’s dress while seated in a wheelchair due to an injured foot.

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