Badal injured in Nanded attack
Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and former deputy chief minister of Punjab, was attacked with a kirpan (a curved, single-edged dagger worn by Sikhs) inside a gurdwara in Maharashtra’s Nanded district on Thursday afternoon.
The attack happened at about 1.45 pm at Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji Mugat, where Badal was visiting, accompanied by his wife, Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Kaur to ask about Badal’s health.
Maharashtra Police said a man in traditional nihang attire approached Badal and tried to strike him with the ceremonial dagger, which members of the Sikh martial order commonly wear. Superintendent of Police (SP) Nanded district, Neelabh Rohan, confirmed that a kirpan was used in the attack inside the gurdwara. The attacker has been identified as Jaspal Singh. Security personnel with Badal, who has Z+ category protection, stepped in and stopped further harm. The attacker was detained at the scene and is still in custody. Footage from the site showed Badal with a cloth wrapped around his right hand.
He was taken to a private hospital for treatment.
SAD spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said Badal had a minor arm injury and needed two to three stitches. He added that the party chief is “completely fine and in Chardi Kala (high spirits). Local officials in Nanded confirmed the injury was not serious.
Maharashtra Police are investigating the incident since it happened in their state. Kler also said authorities will look into whether a larger conspiracy was involved.
The SAD strongly condemned the attack. Kler said that “panthic (community) leaders” have been targeted many times and claimed that “some panth virodhi (anti-community) forces are hatching such conspiracies.” Senior SAD leader Virsa Singh Valtoha also denounced the attack and called for a full investigation to find out who was behind it. This is the second attack on Badal in recent months. In December 2024, Badal was attacked by former militant, Narain Singh Chaura, who fired at him from close range outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
At that time, Badal was doing sewa as a sewadar outside the shrine during a period of public penance related to the SAD Government’s time in office from 2007 to 2017. Chaura approached Badal, who was in a wheelchair because of a fractured leg, pulled out a handgun, and fired. The bullet missed Badal and hit the wall at the shrine entrance. A plainclothes policeman stopped the attacker at the site. Badal escaped unhurt on that occasion.
Badal has remained a prominent figure in Punjab politics as the head of the Shiromani Akali Dal, a party with deep roots in Sikh religious and political affairs. The December 2024 incident had drawn widespread attention because it occurred at the holiest Sikh shrine during a period of public atonement. Thursday’s attack in Nanded, though less severe in outcome, has again brought focus on security arrangements for political and religious leaders associated with the community.
Maharashtra Police have not provided more information about the detained Nihang’s identity or possible motives.
