Majithia demands NIA probe into Nanded and Amritsar attacks on SAD chief Badal

SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Friday sought a NIA probe into the attack on party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal in Maharashtra's Nanded and the 2024 incident in Amritsar.

Majithia called the Nanded attack an extremely serious and disturbing incident and said Badal has reached Delhi from Nanded along with his family on Friday.

He said Badal's life was saved by the grace of Guru Sahib.

He suffered serious injuries to his hand in the attack and had to undergo surgery. The police personnel deployed on duty performed his duty by stopping the attacker and was also injured, he said.

Majithia said Badal had made it clear that he was not afraid earlier, nor will he be afraid now.

He said this reflected his unwavering faith in Guru Sahib and his firm commitment to the peace of Punjab and Hindu Sikh brotherhood.

Badal, who has a Z plus security cover, was injured in a kirpan' (ceremonial dagger) attack by Jaspal Singh, around 60-62 years old, inside a gurdwara on the outskirts of Maharashtra's Nanded town on Thursday.

Majithia, who is also Badal's brother-in-law, said this was not the first such incident. In December 2024, an attempt was also made to attack Badal in Amritsar.

A former terrorist had then opened fire at Badal from a close range while he was performing the duty of 'sewadar' outside the Golden Temple but missed as he was overpowered by a plainclothes policeman.

Referring to the fresh incident in Nanded on Thursday, Majithia said now, the fact that an attacker once again managed to get so close to him at a sacred Takht Sahib raises serious questions over the security arrangements.

He questioned how the attacker managed to get so close despite Z plus security. What changes had been made to the security arrangements after the 2024 attack and how did such an incident occur again in Nanded? He also asked whether possible links between the two incidents were being investigated.

He said all these questions require a serious and immediate investigation.

Majithia demanded that the Nanded incident and the 2024 Amritsar incident be investigated by the NIA on a fast track basis.

He said the investigation should not remain limited to the attacker, but should cover every aspect, including his contacts, possible accomplices, funding, any external or foreign links and lapses in security.

On Nanded incident, Majithia said the most concerning aspect was that the attack did not take place at an ordinary location, but within the sacred premises of a gurdwara. Gurdwaras are centres of peace, faith and security. Violence of any kind there can neither be accepted nor justified, he said.

He said that in a democracy, the answer to ideological or political differences with any political leader is the vote and dialogue, not a dagger or a bullet.

Majithia said Union Home Minister Amit Shah's phone call to (Sukhbir's wife and Majithia's sister) Harsimrat Kaur Badal after the attack to enquire about Badal's health reflected the seriousness of the incident.

He said the central government must now take every necessary step to get to the bottom of the matter.

Majithia said this was not merely a matter of Sukhbir Singh Badal's security, but concerned the sanctity of gurdwaras, the security of religious places, the future of Punjab and communal harmony.

There have been two attacks and both took place at sacred religious sites. The matter should not end merely with the arrest of the attacker. If there is a conspiracy, the conspirators must also be exposed, he said.

NATIONAL CHANDIGARH