Sukhbir Badal Attack: Harsimrat Kaur Writes To Amit Shah Seeking NIA Probe, Claims ‘Larger Conspiracy’

Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Sunday wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the August 13 attack on party president Sukhbir Singh Badal and an earlier assassination attempt on him at the Golden Temple in December 2024.

Harsimrat Kaur, Sukhbir Badal’s wife, described the August 13 incident in Maharashtra’s Nanded as a “dastardly and heinous assassination bid”.

The two attacks had “several disturbing parallels”, she said, raising questions over whether they were connected and whether there was a “larger conspiracy” behind them.

“I write with a mix of personal pain and profound concern for our society, our state of Punjab and our country, particularly over the manner in which violence is being normalised and even justified by persons holding positions of power in Punjab, apparently as a means of pursuing political battles,” she wrote in her letter to Shah.

Sukhbir Badal sustained injuries to his right hand in a ‘kirpan’ (ceremonial dagger) attack by a member of the Nihang order inside a gurdwara on the outskirts of Nanded on Thursday. The attacker was later arrested.

Referring to the incident, Harsimrat Kaur said Sukhbir Badal, accompanied by her and their children, was leaving after paying obeisance at the gurdwara when an assailant attacked him with a sword.

She said the consequences could have been “fatal” had an alert security personnel not intervened and risked his own life to prevent the attack.

Harsimrat Kaur said she and her children did not know whether they too could have become targets had the assailant succeeded in his alleged attempt.

Two Attacks, ‘Disturbing Parallels’

The August 13 incident was not isolated, she said, recalling the December 4, 2024 attack on Sukhbir Badal at Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, where he was performing religious service as directed by the Akal Takht.

Both incidents took place at sacred Sikh shrines while Sukhbir Badal was engaged in religious service, Harsimrat Kaur said. She alleged that the attacks were aimed at eliminating a “moderate voice of Punjab” and a proponent of peace and communal harmony.

She also questioned the Punjab government’s handling of the December 2024 attack.

Referring to the 2024 incident, she said the criminal and alleged extremist antecedents of the assailant, Narain Singh Chaura, were known to the Punjab Police.

“He has been described as a listed extremist, a self-proclaimed terrorist and an alleged ISI operative. Inputs available to the authorities had also indicated that he had issued threats to eliminate Sukhbir Badal,” she said.

Despite this, Chaura was allegedly allowed to move freely within the premises and gain direct and unhindered access to an “unprotected” Sukhbir Badal. Harsimrat Kaur said this raised serious questions over the security arrangements and the conduct of senior police officials present at the site.

In December 2024, Chaura opened fire at Sukhbir Badal from close range outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar but missed his target. He was overpowered by a plainclothes policeman.

Questions Over Police Handling

Harsimrat Kaur said no senior police officer appeared to have been questioned or held accountable for the security lapses surrounding the 2024 assassination attempt.

“This has naturally fuelled concerns about possible police and assailant complicity and the larger conspiracy, if any, behind the attempt on Mr Badal’s life,” she wrote.

She alleged that the 2024 attack was sought to be portrayed as a “mere scuffle” and expressed concern over the manner in which the investigation was handled.

The former Union minister also alleged that instead of unequivocally condemning the attack, some members of the Punjab government appeared to justify it as an expression of understandable anger. Such an approach, she said, could contribute to the normalisation of political violence.

“I do not regard these incidents as an issue concerning Sukhbir Badal alone. They concern every devout Sikh. They concern the sanctity of our ‘Guru Ghars’ and the manner in which we, as a community, are expected to follow the teachings of our great Guru Sahiban by resolving differences through peaceful and dignified means,” she wrote.

Punjab is a border state and has historically remained sensitive from the perspective of national security, she said.

“Any conspiracy involving extremist elements, inter-state networks or foreign backed organisations therefore cannot be treated merely as a matter of local law and order. The two attacks on Badal also have potential inter-state ramifications and must be investigated from the wider perspective of national security,” she noted.

Harsimrat Kaur also claimed there was deep public concern in Punjab over the credibility and impartiality of the “politicised police establishment in the state”.

She said the circumstances surrounding the two attacks, including the conduct of certain police officials and the subsequent handling of the cases, made it imperative that the entire sequence of events be examined by an agency independent of the Punjab government.

According to her, only an independent central investigation could establish the full chain of events, identify the individuals and organisations involved, determine whether the two attacks were connected, examine possible extremist or foreign links, and establish whether there had been any failure, complicity or deliberate dereliction of duty by public officials.

“I respectfully request you to order a high level investigation by the National Investigation Agency into the assassination attempt of August 13, 2026 and the earlier attempt of December 4, 2024, and to examine whether the two incidents are connected and whether there is a larger conspiracy behind them,” she said in her letter to Shah.

Attack On Badal

Badal was attacked around 1.45 pm on Thursday inside Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji Mugat, about 15 km from Nanded city.

The assailant, dressed in Nihang attire, allegedly attacked him with a kirpan. Badal sustained an injury to his right hand and was taken to hospital, where he received two to three stitches.

Soon after the incident, SAD spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said Badal was safe and remained in “Chardi Kala”, or high spirits.

Kler said the attacker had attempted to target the SAD president but was stopped by members of his security detail. Badal is a Z-category protectee.

(with agency inputs)