Sukhbir Singh Badal survives assassination attempt at Golden Temple

Mangalore Today /PTI

Panjab, December 04, 2024: The shooter, Narain Singh Chaura, who was named the mastermind of a 2004 jailbreak and remained wanted in nearly a dozen terror-related cases, was overpowered and arrested.

 

Former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, 62, on Wednesday survived an assassination attempt at Amritsar’s Golden Temple while performing sewa (service) as penance for “mistakes” during the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) rule in Punjab (2007-17). The shooter, Narain Singh Chaura, who was named the mastermind of the 2004 Burail jailbreak in Chandigarh and remained wanted in nearly a dozen terror-related cases, was overpowered and arrested.

Chaura,68, positioned himself in front of Badal but missed the target when a volunteer pushed him as he fired. The bullet aimed at Badal hit a wall about six feet where Badal sat.

The attack was captured on cameras gathered to cover day two of Badal’s penance. Footage showed the shooter walking towards Badal and pulling out a gun from his pocket. The volunteer standing near Badal grabbed Chaura ‘s hands. Badal escaped unhurt.

Chaura was in January 2004 charged with helping convicts in former chief minister Beant Singh’s assassination case Jagtar Singh Hawara, Paramjit Singh Bheora, and their accomplices Jagtar Singh Tara and Devi Singh escape from Burail prison by digging a tunnel. He was granted bail and declared a proclaimed offender in October 2011 after he stopped appearing before court. Chaura was arrested in 2013 and booked under the Explosives Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. A former militant and founder of the Khalistan Liberation Army, Chaura remained underground.

A bounty of ₹10 lakh was put on his head in one of the cases in which he was absconding. Police said Chaura crossed over to Pakistan in 1984 and was instrumental in smuggling weapons and explosives into Punjab during the initial phase of terrorism. He allegedly authored a book on guerrilla warfare and “seditious” literature in Pakistan