Amritsar: A man opened fire at Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday morning while he was serving a religious punishment, or tankhah, at the entrance of the Golden Temple. Badal escaped unhurt as the bullet hit a wall. The assailant, identified as Narain Singh, was overpowered by some people standing outside the temple.

Badal, who was in a wheelchair due to a leg fracture, carried out his punishment while holding a spear in one hand as part of his penance for past actions, reported PTI. Alongside him was senior Akali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, who was also in a wheelchair. Both leaders spent one hour performing their sewadar duties at the temple.

As part of the tankhah issued by the Sikh clergy at Akal Takht, Badal and Dhindsa were assigned to wash dishes, clean shoes, and serve the community kitchen. Their punishment, related to mistakes committed by the SAD government during its tenure from 2007 to 2017, came after Badal admitted to errors, including pardoning Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a 2007 blasphemy case.

Sukhbir-Singh-Badal-attack
People catch a man, center, who allegedly opened fire at Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal while the latter was performing the duty of 'sewadar' outside the Golden Temple, in Amritsar, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. Photo: PTI.

Other Akali leaders, such as Bikram Singh Majithia and Daljit Singh Cheema, also participated in the tankhah by washing utensils, while others like Prem Singh Chandumajra and Surjit Singh Rakhra cleaned the Golden Temple's washrooms.

The tankhah served as a significant religious reminder for the Akali leaders and followed Sukhbir Badal’s declaration of being guilty of religious misconduct by the Akal Takht.

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