Assassination bid on Sukhbir Badal during sewa at Golden Temple in Amritsar

Former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and senior Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal narrowly escaped an assassination bid when Khalistani militant Narayan Singh Chaura opened fire at him at the entrance of the Golden Temple where he and his former Cabinet colleague Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa have been undergoing 'tankhah' (religious punishment) by working as a 'sewadar' while sitting on wheelchairs.

Chaura was arrested by the police from the spot.

Around 9.30 am, Chaura was only a few metres away from Sukhbir when he took out a pistol and before he could open fire, the security personnel deployed in ‘mufti’ around Sukhbir overpowered the terrorist and the bullet was fired into the open.

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Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said everything was brought under control before any untoward incident could have occurred. “It was the efficiency and promptness of a policeman of the Amritsar police who gauged the situation and overpowered Chaura and the bullet was fired into the air. Chaura has been arrested. Everything is fine,” he said.

Condemning the incident, Akali leader Daljit Singh Cheema called it a "major security lapse" and demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. “Though I appreciate the policeman who took swift action, we have no faith in the government. The conspiracy behind this incident has to come out," he said.

Cheema claimed that Chaura was roaming around Golden Temple for the past two days. “What were the police waiting for? Why was he not arrested then,” he said.

Chaura has been booked in around 30 cases, including one under the Explosives Act on May 8, 2010, at the Civil Lines police station in Amritsar. He was also wanted in cases under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ropar.

Chaura was arrested on February 28, 2013, from Jalalabad village in Tarn Taran and was out on bail.

According to the police, Chaura had crossed over to Pakistan in 1984 and was instrumental in smuggling large consignments of weapons and explosives into Punjab during the initial phase of militancy. While in Pakistan, he allegedly authored a book on guerrilla warfare and “seditious” literature. He was also accused in the Burail jailbreak case.