Nanded/Chandigarh, Aug 13 (PTI): Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was injured in a ‘kirpan’ attack by a member of the Nihang order inside a gurdwara on the outskirts of Maharashtra’s Nanded town on Thursday, police said. The former Punjab deputy chief minister was rushed to hospital where he received two to three stitches on his right hand. The attacker has been arrested.
SAD leaders termed the attack, which took place around 1.45 pm at the Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji Mugat, about 15 km from Nanded, an intelligence failure and said the party chief was fine and in high spirits. Senior leaders, including Badal’s brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia, demanded a CBI probe into the matter. “A Nihang (member of a martial order of Sikhs) attacked Badal with a kirpan (ceremonial dagger) inside the gurdwara. The attacker has been taken into custody,” Nanded Superintendent of Police Neelabh Rohan told PTI.
Police officer Santosh Kendre, who was part of the special protection unit, was injured while protecting him. Badal was going down a flight of stairs at the time.
Visuals showed Badal walking inside a hospital building with a cloth wrapped around his right hand.
Badal, who escaped unhurt in December 2024 when a former Babbar Khalsa International terrorist opened fire at him at the Golden Temple entrance, is protected by Z plus category security. However, he is entitled to CISF cover only in Punjab and Delhi with a deployment of around 40 personnel. Punjab Police personnel were with him when the attack took place.
Earlier in the day, the 64-year-old SAD chief visited the Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, which is one of the five Takhts of Sikhism, along with wife and Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a probe into the attack. He also called up the SAD chief to enquire about his health. Fadnavis sought information about the incident from the Nanded SP and directed the police to investigate the motive behind the attack, sources said.
The Badal family was visiting Maharashtra from August 12-14, said Majithia. “It is a total intelligence failure. We need to realise that no one attacks at ‘Guru ghar’. Those who are atheists do such acts,” he told PTI.
“Badal sustained a minor injury on his arm and is undergoing treatment at a hospital. He is completely fine and in ‘chardi kala’ (high spirits),” said SAD spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said.
Kler said Maharashtra police will investigate the attack since it took place in the state. He alleged that ‘panthic leaders’ were being targeted continuously and the target of conspiracies.
Strongly 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.
“There should be a thorough probe. Who are the forces behind such attack…,” added his party colleague Virsa Singh Valtoha.
Senior BJP leader R P Singh also strongly condemned the attack and said such an act of violence is completely unacceptable and has no place whatsoever in a democratic society. “Political differences and disagreements are a natural part of democracy, but resorting to violence can never be justified,” Singh said in a post on X.
The audacious December 2024 attack took place while Badal was performing ‘sewadar’ duty as a guard at the temple entrance after the Akal Takht pronounced the ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) for “mistakes” committed during his party’s rule in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.
The man, identified as Narain Singh Chaura, was overpowered by people present on the spot and handed over to the police.
Chaura had walked towards Badal, who was sitting in a wheelchair due to a fractured leg, and pulled out a gun from his pocket.
PM inquires about health of Sukhbir Badal after attack on SAD chief
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday enquired about the health of Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was injured in a knife attack inside a gurdwara in Maharashtra’s Nanded.
The prime minister spoke to Badal’s wife and Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal over the phone and inquired about the SAD chief’s health, official sources said.
A Nihang (member of a martial order of Sikhs) attacked Badal with a kirpan (curved dagger) inside a gurdwara in Nanded.
SAD said Badal was fine and in “high spirits” after a man in a ‘Nihang’ attire attacked him.
The SAD chief was accompanied by his wife at the time of the incident.
On August 7, Badal had met the prime minister here, igniting speculation about the possibility of the Punjab-based party joining hands with the BJP again ahead of the Punjab assembly elections.
SAD left the NDA six years ago over the farm laws issue.
SAD was one of the oldest constituents of the NDA with more than 20 years of association when it left the alliance in 2020 over the three agriculture laws, which were later withdrawn by the Modi government.
Harsimrat Kaur Badal was also part of the Modi government as a minister with cabinet rank. Punjab assembly election is due early next year.