Anandpur Sahib : Shiromani Akal Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday performed 'seva' at Takhat Sri Kesgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib. This comes a day after an assassination attempt made at him at the Golden Temple on Wednesday.
The assailant, Narain Singh Chaura, attempted to shoot Badal while he was performing 'seva'. However, Badal was unharmed, and the attacker was quickly overpowered and arrested.
Badal was performing 'seva' after being declared a 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) in August by the Akal Takht. Akal Takht announced punishment for him due to the "mistakes" and "decisions" made by the SAD-led government in the state from 2007 to 2017. As part of his punishment, Badal was seen washing utensils at the Takhat Sri Kesgarh Sahib, Gurdwara. His family members also joined him in performing Seva.
Following the attack, Bikram Singh Majithia, General Secretary of Shiromani Akali Dal, criticized Punjab Police SP who was seen on CCTV shaking hands with the attacker Narain Singh Chaura.
SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia says, "Sukhbir Singh Badal is alive today by the grace of God...Yesterday I released a video of SP-level officer Harpal Singh Randhawa who is from Dera Baba Nanak shaking hands with Narain Singh Chaura (attacker). Have we ever seen a police officer shaking hands with an ISI agent (Narayan Singh Chaura)...Punjab Police has launched a cover-up operation and the High Court or Supreme Court should investigate this matter..."
Majithia also took on Amritsar Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar for suggesting that Badal might have orchestrated the incident himself to gain sympathy. Majithia accused Bhullar of making such remarks to protect his position and cover up his failure.
Police sources revealed that the attacker, Narain Singh Chaura is a hardcore Pakistan returned terrorist and former head of Akal Federation and had authored books on guerrilla warfare and other seditious materials.
"He was involved in smuggling of weapons and explosives into Punjab during the early years of militancy. He reportedly crossed into Pakistan in 1984 and remained there for several years before he returned to Punjab. During his stay in Pakistan, he was remotely in touch with radical organizations in Punjab and helping them," said a senior official. According to Amritsar Police, Chaura also had several cases registered against him.
"There are several cases registered against him (Chaura), arms were recovered from him in the past, we will have to check records," Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said. Multiple political leaders condemned the attack on Badal, with the Congress claiming the Punjab government being negligent with security and Bharatiya Janata Party saying that the assassination attempt is "indicative of complete breakdown of law and order".