Chandigarh:

Police were keeping an eye on former Khalistaini terrorist Narain Singh Chaura who had visited the Golden Temple on Tuesday too, a day before his failed attempt on the life of Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal, a senior official said.

Chaura on Wednesday opened fire from a close range at Badal, who was performing the duty of ‘sewadar’ at the main gate of the Sikh shrine as a religious penance, but missed as he was overpowered by plainclothes policemen.

Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar on Wednesday lauded the police personnel, saying their alertness had foiled the murder bid.

He said the police have seized a 9 mm pistol from Chaura.

Commissioner Bhullar said the police would investigate all angles in the case, including if any organisation was behind the incident or it was carried out to “gain sympathy”.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Harpal Singh said the police were keeping an eye on the accused. “We had covered Sukhbir Ji,” he said, adding that the cops had been alert.

“Narain Singh Chaura was roaming around here yesterday (Tuesday) as well”, he said.

Senior SAD leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia questioned why police did not take action against Chaura who faced multiple cases, many of them serious ones.

“I have shared a video that the accused was in the area since yesterday,” Majithia told reporters in Amritsar.

“He was dressed in a cream-coloured sweater yesterday. If the police were so alert, why did they not arrest him? Police were giving him VIP treatment and probably waiting for the bullet to be fired,” Mr Majithia said.

“The Punjab Police should also tell why it compromised with the safety of Sukhbir Badal by allowing the attacker to approach him and fire at point-blank range”, he said.

As other devotees entered the shrine, the shooter slowly walked towards Badal (62), who was sitting in a wheelchair due to a fractured leg, and pulled out a gun from his pocket.

Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Jasbir Singh, who was standing close to Mr Badal in plainclothes, sensed the threat to the senior Akali leader and pounced on the shooter, grabbed his hands and pushed them upwards after which the attacker was overpowered with the help of other security personnel and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) task force members.

Speaking to the media in Amritsar, Commissioner Bhullar said a case has been registered in the matter and investigation was being done from each angle.

“We are deeply investigating the matter. What was his (Chaura) mentality and what did he have in mind? Besides, (the role of any) organisation or political angle behind the incident (will be probed).

“Third is the sympathy angle. We are being asked whether this (incident) was done to gain sympathy. We will deeply investigate the matter in a transparent manner,” said Mr Bhullar in reply to a question.

Responding to a question, Bhullar said the security deployment at the shrine was sufficient. Police cannot carry out frisking because religious sentiments are involved, he said.

“Around 175 police personnel led by an assistant inspector general have been deployed at the complex,” he said.

Asked whether Chaura came alone, the police commissioner said, “Interrogation is going on and we are also examining the CCTV footage to corroborate to see whether he was alone or somebody else was with him.” “Technical and on-the-spot investigation will reveal it,” he said.

Special Director General of Police Arpit Shukla told PTI that more than 20 cases including under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act are registered against Chaura.

He was involved in the 2004 Burail jailbreak case where he allegedly helped terrorists Jagtar Singh Hawara, Paramjit Singh Bheora and two others escape from prison. A native of Chora Bajwa village Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district, he has been out on bail.

Chaura had remained in jail in Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Chandigarh, his wife Jasmeet Kaur told reporters at his native place. To a question, she said he had told her that he was going to the Golden Temple. She said whatever he did was wrong. 

New Delhi:

Narain Singh Chaura, the man who allegedly has links to the Khalistani terrorist group Babbar Khalsa, was arrested for opening fire at former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal this morning. He tried to attack Mr Badal while he was serving his penance at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Sukhbir Singh Badal escaped unhurt as Chaura was overpowered by people present on the spot.

The incident occurred around 9 am shortly after Mr Badal, who was in a wheelchair, had taken the ‘sewadar’s’ place at the gate of the Golden Temple.

Visuals from the spot show Chaura slowly approaching the gate and then taking a gun out of his pocket. A man standing near Mr Badal quickly spotted him and held his hands.

#WATCH | Punjab: Bullets fired at Golden Temple premises in Amritsar where SAD leaders, including party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, are offering ‘seva’ under the religious punishments pronounced for them by Sri Akal Takht Sahib, on 2nd December.

Details awaited. pic.twitter.com/CFQaoiqLkx

— ANI (@ANI) December 4, 2024

The gun goes off but narrowly misses Mr Badal and others near him and hits the wall.

Who Is Narain Singh Chaura

Narain Singh Chaura is a resident of a village called Chaura in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, some 60 kilometres from Golden Temple.

He was born on April 4, 1956, to Chanam Singh and Gurnam Kaur.

According to sources in the security establishment, Chaura is associated with the banned pro-Khalistan group Babbar Khalsa or Babbar Khalsa International.

The 68-year-old is also considered the mastermind of Chandigarh’s 2004 Burail jailbreak case in which four inmates escaped prison after digging a 104-foot tunnel. These four prisoners were Babbar Khalsa chief Jagtar Singh Hawara, former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh’s assassins Paramjit Singh Bheora and Jagtar Singh Tara and a murder convict Devi Singh.

Chaura was arrested in 2013 in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He was released on bail five years later.

Sukhbir Singh Badal Serving Punishment At Golden Temple

Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday started his penance by serving the religious punishment given to him by the highest temporal body of Sikhs in a sacrilege case.

The Akali Dal chief sat in a wheelchair at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, wearing a plaque around his neck and holding a spear, visuals showed.

Mr Badal has been sentenced by the Akal Takht to perform as a ‘sewadar’ and given clean duty in the kitchen and toilet at several gurdwaras, including the Golden Temple, for favouring Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the 2015 sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib.

Vadodara:

A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered here against unidentified persons for giving death threats to a city-based fashion designer who is facing a criminal case after performing yoga at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar on June 21.

Releasing a fresh video statement, designer and social media influencer Archana Makwana also said she had done nothing wrong and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) should withdraw its complaint against her for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Based on her complaint about threats, an FIR under Indian Penal Code Section 507 (criminal intimidation by anonymous communication) was registered at Karelibaug police station on Wednesday night, an official said.

As the police categorised it as ‘sensitive’, the FIR could not be accessed by the general public on the state home department’s website.

“She claimed that unknown persons gave her death threats through email, WhatsApp, and Instagram after photos showing her doing’shirsasan’ (head-stand) at Golden Temple went viral. No suspect has been named in the FIR,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Panna Momaya.

Makwana visited the Golden Temple on June 21, the International Day of Yoga, and performed yoga on its ‘parikrama’ path. The photos of her act soon went viral.

Two days later, the SGPC filed a complaint against her for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, and an FIR was registered against her under relevant sections by Punjab Police.

Makwana then apologised through a video, saying she never intended to hurt anyone’s religious sentiments.

On June 24, Vadodara police provided her protection as she started receiving death threats.

In her latest video released on social media platforms, Makwana asked the SGPC to withdraw the complaint against her.

“Thousands of Sikh devotees were there when I performed yoga. Even the person who clicked my photos was a Sikh, and the Sevadars (office-bearers) of the temple did not stop him. The feelings of those who were present there and watched me do yoga did not get hurt. So I believe that I have not done anything wrong,” she said in the video.

The trouble started when some people outside India made her photos viral, saying that the people’s sentiments were hurt by her act, Makwana said.

“My intention was not bad. The FIR filed against me by the SGPC is baseless. It was not written anywhere in the temple that such acts were not allowed. I went there for the first time. Had I been told, I would have deleted those photos right away. I want the SGPC to withdraw its FIR, or else I and my legal team are ready to fight this case,” she added.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Senior Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Badal today objected to the proposed auction of a model of Golden Temple gifted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying it was a “sacred symbol of the gift and blessings of the Akal Purakh and the Guru Sahibs and auctioning it would be grossly disrespectful”.

“It would also hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikh community,” he added in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The model is part of the fifth e-auction of gifts received by PM Modi and started earlier this month. Also going under the hammer are replicas of the Sun Temple in Gujarat’s Modhera, the Vijay Stambh of Chittorgarh and a painting of a ghat of Varanasi. altogether 900 items will be auctioned, some of which have been displayed at the National Gallery of Modern Arts.

Declaring he was “deeply saddened” by the inclusion of the “sacred model of the Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Sahib” he said it was presented to PM Modi by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
“This model was presented as a sacred symbol of the gift and blessings of the Akal Purakh and the Guru Sahibs… My humble request to the Prime Minister to stop this auction immediately. If the government feels unable to handle this sacred and priceless gift, then I request that this sacred symbol be kindly handed back to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee,” his post read.

The Prime Minister had announced the exhibition on X, saying the objects on display are a “testament to the rich culture, tradition and artistic heritage of India”.

“Starting today, an exhibition at NGMA will display a wide range of gifts and mementoes given to me over the recent past. Presented to me during various programmes and events across India, they are a testament to the rich culture, tradition and artistic heritage of India,” he had posted on October 2.

Amritsar:

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi visited the Golden Temple in Punjab’s Amritsar today.

 After offering prayers at the Golden Temple, Rahul Gandhi also took part in ‘kar sewa’. He was seen washing the dishes along with other party members and Gurudwara volunteers.

“He will spend the night in the city,” a Congress official said.

“This is his personal, spiritual visit, let’s respect his privacy. Request all party workers to not be physically present for this visit. You all can show your support in spirit & meet him the next time,” Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Waring posted on X – formerly known as Twitter – earlier in the day.

Shri @RahulGandhi ji is coming to Amritsar Sahib to pay obeisance at Sachkhand Shri Harmandir Sahib. This is his personal, spiritual visit, let’s respect his privacy. Request all party workers to not be physically present for this visit. You all can show your support in spirit &…

— Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (@RajaBrar_INC) October 2, 2023

Rahul Gandhi’s Amritsar visit comes amid tensions between Congress and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the arrest of MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira.

Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira was arrested by the Punjab police last week for alleged involvement in drug smuggling and money laundering.

The Congress leader has accused the AAP and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of being “thirsty for blood”. “I will not be surprised if he gets me physically eliminated also,” he declared.

The AAP government has claimed “fresh evidence” – in a 2015 case – led to Mr Khaira’s arrest.

The AAP and the Congress’ national leadership may be pulling for the INDIA bloc but Mr Khaira’s arrest has thrown open regional rivalries that could make it difficult for the two to work together,