A man opened fire at Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Wednesday morning. Badal, in blue ‘sewadar’ uniform, was at the entrance of the Golden Temple in his wheelchair, serving his punishment.
According to the police, the assailant was identified as Narayan Singh Chaura who was immediately taken into custody.The motive of the attack is not known yet, cops said.”There were proper security arrangements here. Sukhbir ji was properly given cover. Narayan Singh Chaura (assailant) was here yesterday as well. Today too, he first paid obeisance to the Guru,” ADCP Harpal Singh said.
Speaking on the incident, SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema says, “…First of all, I would like to thank Guru Nanak. Jako Rakhe Saaiyan, Maar Sake Na Koy. ‘Sevaks’ were offering ‘seva’ here. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was sitting by the Guru Ram Das Dwar as ‘Chowkidar’. Bullet was fired in his direction…I thank Guru Nanak that he saved his ‘sevak’…This is a huge incident, what era is Punjab being pushed into?…I would like to ask the CM of Punjab, where do you want to take Punjab?…The attacker was caught on the spot. I also thank the security personnel here. Had they not acted promptly…There should be judicial enquiry into the incident…We will continue with our ‘seva’…”
The incident occurred around 9 am today, shortly after Badal had taken the ‘sewadar’s’ place at the Golden Temple gate. The shooter has been identified as Narain Singh from Gurdaspur district, about 75 km from Amritsar. Visuals from the spot show him slowly approaching the gate. Then he quickly brings out a gun. A man standing near Mr Badal spots him in time and holds his hand. The gun goes off but misses Mr Badal and others near him and hits the wall. The shooter has been arrested and police are investigating the motive behind the shocking attack.Former SAD MP Naresh Gujral said this attack shows criminals were roaming freely in Punjab and that the law and order situation has broken down.
