SAD Chief Sukhbir Singh Badal Injured in Kirpan Attack at Nanded Gurdwara
Shiromani Akali Dal president and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal survived an attack on Thursday after a man targeted him with a kirpan at Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji Mugat in Nanded, Maharashtra. Badal suffered an injury to his hand during the assault, while Santosh Kendre, a police inspector with the Special Protection Unit of Nanded police, was also injured while intervening to protect him. Badal was taken to Yasho Sai Hospital in Nanded and is reported to be out of danger.
Security personnel overpowered the attacker at the scene before he could cause further harm. Police identified the suspect as 62-year-old Jaspal Singh, son of Teja Singh and a resident of Solapur Bazaar in Pune. According to police statements, Singh had reportedly been residing at Mata Sahib Gurdwara for the past two years. Authorities have launched an investigation into his motive and the circumstances surrounding the incident, while security around the gurdwara has been stepped up.
At the time of the attack, Badal was visiting the gurdwara at Takht Sri Hazur Sahib alongside his wife, SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal. He was accompanied by security personnel from Punjab as well as Maharashtra Police, including officers from the state's Special Protection Unit deployed for VVIP protection during movement.
The assault occurred despite Badal holding Z-plus security cover, the highest category of central protection available outside the Special Protection Group. Under guidelines set by the Bureau of Police Research and Development, Z-plus security builds on lower tiers by including a bulletproof vehicle, round-the-clock personal security officers, armed guards, and an escort operating in three shifts.
The Nanded incident marks the second attack on Badal at a Sikh religious site in under two years. In December 2024, Badal narrowly escaped an assassination attempt outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, when pro-Khalistan hardliner Narain Singh Chaura approached him and fired a gun from close range. In that instance, a bystander pushed the gunman's arm upward, causing the bullet to hit a wall while Badal was seated in a wheelchair in a sewadar uniform as part of a religious punishment.
Investigators are now reviewing security protocols surrounding Badal's visits to public religious places. Questions being examined include how Jaspal Singh gained close proximity, whether he had advance knowledge of the visit, and how protection systems function when protectees interact with crowds in open religious settings.
