Amritsar, December 4, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)
Former SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal was today attacked by a hardliner who fired two shots from close range.
Sukhbir Badal, who was declared ‘Tankhayiya’ by Akal Takht recently was performing ‘Sewa’ as a ‘Chobdar’ outside Darshani Deori when the assailant took out a pistol and fired two shots.
The Akali leader was Tuesday morning, attacked when he was sitting in a wheelchair due to a fracture in his leg outside the Darshani Deori.
The attacker, later identified as Narayan Singh Chaura, a hardliner, was apprehended by security personnel of Punjab Police when he tried to shoot from close range. The attacker managed to fire two shots during the scuffle with Punjab Police personnel but the shots luckily missed the target and did not cause any harm to anybody. One of the shots hit the Darshani Deori building and the other hit the floor.
Narayan Singh Chaura, a resident of Dera Baba Nanak had been associated with various radical organizations from time to time. He was out on bail after spending nearly 5 years in jail. Chaura had earlier warned Sukhbir Badal saying that Akal Takht had taken a lenient view of his wrongdoings.
Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that Narayan Singh Chaura had come to the Darbar Sahib yesterday also but today he came and attacked Sukhbir Badal after paying obeisance at Darbar Sahib.
Bhullar said Punja Police personnel were constantly keeping an eye on Chaura and they were successful in foiling the attempt on the life of Sukhbir Badal.
Meanwhile, former minister and Akali leader Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema linked the matter to senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and alleged that Narayan Singh Chaura’s brother is close to Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and is a Congress sarpanch. He demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident.
Reacting to the allegation, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that there was no truth in the allegations and he would rather welcome a CBI inquiry into the incident.
The punishment has been imposed by Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh on Sukhbir Badal and other Akali leaders.
Sixty-two-year-old Badal was performing ‘sewadar’ duties after the Akal Takht pronounced the ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) for him and several other Akali Dal leaders for “mistakes” committed during the party’s rule in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.
As part of the punishment, Sukhbir Badal and his former colleagues in the then cabinet were ordered to clean toilets, serve ‘langar’ (community kitchen), perform daily prayers and recite Sukhmani Sahib. Placards were also placed around their necks as part of the sentence.
Due to health concerns, Sukhbir Badal and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa were instructed to serve as gatekeepers at the Guru’s abode for two days, donning traditional servant attire and holding spears as a mark of humility. Badal’s leg is in a cast and he sits in a wheelchair
Earlier, Sukhbir Badal admitted his mistakes before the Akal Takth. These mistakes included pardoning Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2007 blasphemy case during the SAD rule. The Akal Takht pronounced the punishment nearly three months after he was declared ‘tankhaiya’ (guilty of religious misconduct).
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