Alarm after brazen bid on Badal’s life

A former militant’s assassination attempt on Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal at the Golden Temple despite his Z-plus protection status and the sensitivity of the location exposed serious security lapses on Wednesday.

Narain Singh Chaura, 68, a known militant wanted in several terror-related cases, attempted to shoot Badal from point-blank range while the former deputy chief minister was performing sewa (service) at the shrine’s entrance.

The bullet missed Badal after an alert police officer in plainclothes grabbed Chaura’s hand, causing the shot to hit a wall about seven feet above Badal’s head.

Badal, 62, was seated in a wheelchair due to a foot fracture, wearing the blue uniform of a sewadar and holding a ceremonial spear, when Chaura approached after washing his feet at the entrance. Standing barely eight feet away, Chaura pulled out a sophisticated 9mm revolver - a prohibited bore weapon meant only for security forces that police say was smuggled from Pakistan.

“The assassination bid was thwarted due to police alertness. We had deployed about 200 personnel under senior officers, apart from Badal’s personal security,” Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said. He added that officer Rashpal Singh first spotted Chaura and began tracking him, while officers Jasvir Singh and Parminder Singh physically intervened during the shooting attempt.

Badal has Z-plus cover that includes 36 personnel with 10+ CRPF commandos. At the time of the attack, none of his central security detail was visibly present near him.

A senior Akali leader, requesting anonymity, revealed that Z-plus personnel were asked to maintain distance after some devotees complained to the Akal Takht Jathedar about Badal undergoing religious punishment under heavy security cover.

The assassination attempt came a day after the Akal Takht, Sikhism’s highest temporal seat, directed Badal and other SAD leaders to perform sewa as penance for their alleged role in the 2015 sacrilege incidents and managing pardon for Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2007 blasphemy case.

What has particularly alarmed security agencies is that Chaura, who faces over 25 cases related to pro-Khalistan activities and was the alleged mastermind of the 2004 Burail jailbreak in Chandigarh, was able to get so close to a high-risk protectee. CCTV footage showed him present at various locations within the shrine complex even on Tuesday, the first day of the mandated penance.

“For police, the biggest question is how Chaura, a well-known militant, managed to approach a Z-plus protectee who was undergoing punishment for highly emotive issues related to the Sikh panth,” said a former Punjab DGP who requested anonymity.

The incident marks the first assassination attempt on a prominent political figure at the Golden Temple in decades. After the attempt was foiled, Badal continued his sewa, later joined by his wife and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh, and leaders across the political spectrum have condemned the assassination attempt. Police have registered an FIR and launched a detailed investigation into the security breach.