As Badal was walking through the foot-washing area, the man, pretending to be a devotee, launched an attack on him, aiming for his chest. He concealed a kirpan, a small knife, in a large handkerchief and approached Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was exiting Gurudwara Mata Sahib in Nanded, Maharashtra. Former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, Badal, took the blow on his forearm and suffered injuries to his hand. He, the attacker, is Jaspal Singh Teja Singh Aidal, a lawyer from Pune.
The police, however, have not released a statement and are questioning the accused to identify the motive. His wife works as a teacher at an English-medium school in Camp, while their daughter lives with her family in Pune’s Lullanagar. So far, Singh has not been found to have any links to criminal gangs or any criminal record. The police are reconstructing the immediate circumstances of the attack. Further investigation into the case is underway.
Singh lived alone in Nanded while his family remained in Pune, according to the police sources. Singh had very limited contact with his family after moving to Nanded, sources said. He told the police that he attacked Badal since he held him responsible for the drug menace in the state, sources said.
