Alleged attacker Narain Singh Chaura is a former head of Akal Federation and had authored books on guerrilla warfare and other seditious materials
Our Bureau
Amritsar/New Delhi
In a shocking incident on Wednesday, an assassination attempt was made on Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal at the Golden Temple premises in Amritsar. Badal was doing ‘seva’ at the Golden Temple after being declared a ‘tankhaiya’ (guilty of religious misconduct) in August by Akal Takht, who announced religious punishment for him for the “mistakes” and “some decisions” taken by the SAD-led government in the state from 2007 to 2017.
The SAD leader was sitting at the entrance of the Golden Temple with a plaque card around his neck as part of the ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment). According to sources, the attacker Narain Singh Chaura has been linked with radical organizations and was also on the radar of intelligence agencies ever since his return from Pakistan.
“Chaura was on the radar of Central intelligence agencies since he came out on bail in year 2018. The agencies kept Punjab Police updated about his movement and the activities he was involved in,” the official said
Narain Singh Chaura is a hardcore Pakistan returned terrorist and former head of Akal Federation and had authored books on guerrilla warfare and other seditious materials, according to sources.
“He was involved in smuggling of weapons and explosives into Punjab during the early years of militancy. He reportedly crossed into Pakistan in 1984 and remained there for several years before he returned to Punjab. During his stay in Pakistan, he was remotely in touch with radical organizations in Punjab and helping them,” said a senior official.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday praised the Punjab Police for successfully thwarting an assassination attempt on Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal, calling the bid on Badal’s life part of a conspiracy against Punjab and “Punjabiyat.”
“First of all, I would like to congratulate the Punjab Police that they foiled such a major mishap with their alertness. This is an example for the entire country that how good Policing can thwart any major mishap. The mishap shows a major conspiracy is being hatched against Punjab and Punjabiyat, to defame them,” Arvind Kejriwal told reporters in Delhi.
“We should not let this conspiracy succeed at any cost. Punjab Police is doing good work. A few people in the BJP and media are raising their voices about law & order in Punjab – the Punjab Police showed them that they thwarted a major mishap due to their alertness. I would like to urge them to also speak about the deteriorating law and order situation in Delhi,” he added.
Also, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday expressed his concern over the attack on former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, calling for an inquiry into the incident to restrict such kinds of incidents in the future.
Speaking to the media, Abdullah shared that he had talked to Sukhbir Singh Badal after the incident. “I spoke to Sukhbir. Yesterday, after the attack on him, I thanked the almighty that he survived. We discussed the situation,” Omar Abdullah said.
“I spoke to Sukhbir. Yesterday after the attack on him, I expressed gratefulness to the almighty that he survived the attack. We spoke about the situation,” Omar Abdullah said. “It’s a matter of concern if, in daylight hours, a former deputy chief minister, a Z+ protectee, can be attacked like this. This needs to be looked at to ensure that this does not happen again because let’s not forget that not long-ago Punjab went through a very difficult phase in the 80s and early 90s, and God forbid we see something like that again,” the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister added.
In a related development, after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia alleged that attack on former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was an attempt to finish the leadership of Akali Dal, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Thursday said that people will decide whether it was or wasn’t plot to finish Akali Dal leadership.
He added that there was nothing personal like that in the situation because the motive and intention of the accused is yet to be known.
