Co-conspirator in Sukhbir Badal assassination bid still absconding

A month after the assassination bid on former Deputy Chief Minister and senior Akali leader Sukhbir Singh Badal outside the Golden Temple entrance gate, the police are yet to arrest the alleged co-conspirator, Dharam Singh.

In CCTV footage from the shrine, Dharam Singh was spotted with prime accused and Khalistani activist Narain Singh Chaura a day before the incident occurred.

Badal was undergoing ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) as a sewadar at the entrance gate of the shrine when Chaura arrived there and shot at him on December 4, 2024. However, timely and prompt action by a policeman foiled the assassination attempt. Chaura, who was arrested at the spot, is currently in judicial custody.

He along with Dharam Singh had also met an SGPC official on December 3.

Dharam Singh’s name cropped up when senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia released the CCTV footage of the two walking down in the ‘parikarma’ of the Golden Temple before the media.

A resident of Ekalgadda Khurd village in Tarn Taran district, Dharam Singh is said to be a close associate of Chaura. He had remained in jails in Jodhpur, Amritsar and Nabha during the militancy period.

A senior police official privy to the investigation said efforts were on to arrest Dharam Singh. He said Dharam Singh was nominated in the FIR during the investigation later.