Sukhbir Singh Badal 'fine': SAD after man in 'Nihang' attire attacks him at Maharashtra gurdwara

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday said party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was fine and in "high spirits" after a man in 'Nihang' attire attacked him with a knife at a gurdwara in Maharashtra's Nanded.

Badal, the former deputy chief minister of Punjab, was attacked by the man around 1.45 pm with a kirpan when he was visiting the Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji Mugat, according to the Maharashtra Police.

Nanded SP Neelabh Rohan told PTI, "A Nihang attacked Badal with a kirpan in the gurdwara."

The assailant has been taken into custody.

Visuals showed Badal walking inside a building with a cloth wrapped around his right hand.

The SAD chief was rushed to a private hospital. Badal was accompanied by wife and Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

SAD spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said the man, dressed in a 'Nihang' attire, tried to attack Badal but was stopped by the security guards.

Badal is a Z+ security protectee.

"Badal sustained a minor injury on his arm and is undergoing treatment at a hospital. He is completely fine and in high spirits," Kler said.

According to a local official in Nanded, Badal received two to three stitches on his hand.

Kler said that since the incident took place in Maharashtra, the state police will investigate the attack and determine under whose conspiracy Badal was targeted.

Alleging that 'Panthic leaders' were being targeted, the SAD spokesperson said, "Some anti-Panth forces are hatching such conspiracies."

Condemning the attack, Kler said Badal had faced an attack earlier as well and that the Almighty had saved him then and again on Thursday.

Senior SAD leader Virsa Singh Valtoha condemned the attack and demanded a thorough probe.

He said, "There should be a thorough probe. Who are the forces behind such an attack."