(Photo) Courtesy : The Hindu
NEW DELHI: Akali Dal chief and former deputy chief minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal was attacked in Maharashtra’s Nanded on Thursday. According to the preliminary information, Badal was attacked on the outskirts of the city after he visited a gurudwara there.
He was attacked by a Nihang Sikh with a kirpan. The attacker has been taken into custody.
Badal has been rushed to a private hospital in Nanded after the attack. A security personnel deployed in Badal’s security was also injured in the attack.
Sukhbir Singh Badal had earlier in the day visited Takht Sri Hazur Sahib in Nanded with his family. Badal’s wife and Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal was with him when the attack took place.
According to sources, the attacker attempted to stab Sukhbir Badal in stomach, but the security personnel intervened and tried to stop him.
Akali Dal sources told NDTV that Sukhbir Badal has suffered an injury on his hand, but it is not life threatening. He is being treated at a private hospital in Nanded. Badal has got stitches on his hand after the attack.
Shortly after the attack, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis spoke to the Nanded Superintendent of Police and sought details. Fadnavis has directed the police to investigate the motive behind the attack.
On December 4, 2024, former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal survived an assassination attempt outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar. He was unharmed, and the gunman was quickly overpowered and arrested on the spot.
Badal was attacked at the Golden Temple while he 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.
Sukhbir Singh Badal has a top-tier Z-plus security cover due to high threat perceptions.
