Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal attacked at gurdwara in Maharashtra's Nanded
Former Punjab Deputy CM sustains hand injury; one held after attack, guard injured while saving Badal
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was attacked in Nanded Sahib in Maharashtra on Thursday.
Badal sustained an injury to his hand and was rushed to a private hospital, where his condition is learnt to be stable. A video showed the SAD chief walking inside a building with a cloth wrapped around his right hand.
A security guard accompanying Badal was also injured while trying to save the leader.
The incident took place around 2 pm when Sukhbir Singh Badal, along with his supporters and security personnel, was visiting Gurdwara Mata Sahib Kaur in Nanded. The gurdwara is located on the outskirts of the city and is surrounded by forest.
Talking to the media, Teja Singh, chief sevadar of Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devaan Ji, said that in the afternoon, Badal, along with others, had come to pay obeisance at the gurdwara. As he was coming out of Gurdwara Sahib after paying obeisance, an elderly man standing in front of him attacked him with a sword. The attacker was caught by the gurdwara management and security personnel on the spot.
The attacker has been identified as Nihang Jaspal Singh, who is a law graduate and works as an advocate. He had been serving at the Gurdwara Sahib for the past one and a half years and had no criminal record.
Taking advantage of the rush at the gurdwara, the Nihang Sikh carrying a weapon came close to Badal and launched an attack.
An alert guard intervened and averted the attack. However, in the process, the guard was seriously injured, while Badal sustained an injury to his hand. A sharp-edged weapon was used in the attack.
Earlier in the day, Badal visited Takht Sri Hazur Sahib in Nanded along with his wife, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is an Akali Dal MP.
Arshdeep Singh Kaler, spokesperson of the SAD, urged people not to believe rumours. He said Badal had sustained an injury to his right forearm and was out of danger. “I would urge party workers not to panic and not believe in rumours,” he said.
In December 2024, Narayan Singh Chaura, a former Khalistani militant, had attacked Sukhbir Singh Badal while he was performing the duty of ‘sewadar’ outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
