A man opened fire at Punjab’s former chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday while he was serving his penance at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The shooter was overpowered by people present at the spot and was immediately arrested by the police.
According to a report by India Today, the shooter has been identified as Narain Singh Chaura, a former Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist and a resident of Gurdaspur district about 75 km from Amritsar.
The report cited sources as saying that Chaura had crossed over to Pakistan in 1984 and smuggled large consignments of weapons and explosives into Punjab. He was also accused in the Burail jailbreak case and had already served a prison term in Punjab.
A report by Hindustan Times said Chaura has been facing several cases and has remained underground.
The video of the incident shared on various social media handles showed Chaura steadily walking towards Badal, who was sitting on a wheelchair due to his fractured leg, and pulled out a gun to fire at the SAD leader.
A ‘sewadar’ standing next to Badal responded quickly and pushed Chaura’s hand toward upside, saving Badal.
Donning blue ‘sewadar’ or volunteer uniform and holding a spear in one hand, Badal was seen sitting on wheelchair at the entrance of the Golden Temple, serving his punishment pronounced by Sri Akal Takht Sahib for “mistakes” committed during the party’s rule in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.
A small board hung around his neck, acknowledging his “misdeeds”.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/india/man-fires-shots-at-former-punjab-cm-sukhbir-badal-at-golden-temple-arrested-13841411.html.
