Man opens fire at Former Dy. CM of Punjab: Sukhbir Singh Badal, In Golden Temple

Sukhbir Singh Badal, the leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, was shot at when he was practicing religious penance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, causing a terrifying occurrence. Amid the confusion, police swiftly captured the assailant, who was identified as Narain Singh Chaura, a former member of the Khalistani separatist organization Babbar Khalsa International.

This frightening incident happened as Badal was performing his allotted tasks as a “sewadar,” which included cleaning shoes and doing the dishes at one of the holiest places in Sikhism. A day after Badal began his penance, which was imposed by Sri Akal Takht, the highest Sikh authority, for his and other leaders’ controversial support of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, in the 2015 desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib, the attack took place.

The gunman attempted to kill Badal despite the allegedly present security measures, but it was stopped without any injuries being reported. The efficacy of the current procedures has been seriously questioned in light of the security lapse, especially during well-publicized religious celebrations.

Following the attack, SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema demanded that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann quit and denounced the security breach as well as the larger law and order system. Cheema emphasized the incident’s criticality as a reflection of Punjab’s worsening political situation and called for a high-level judicial investigation to make sure similar violations don’t happen again.

The annulment of his father Prakash Singh Badal’s title of ‘Fakhr-e-Qaum’ and his appointment as a’sewadar’ are among the punitive steps against Badal, which take place against the backdrop of the state’s continuous political unrest and intercommunal tensions.

Furthermore, additional Akali leaders who served from 2007 to 2017 were also subject to the religious punishments issued by Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh.