Chandigarh, December 5, 2024 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau)-Sukhbir Singh Badal of the Shiromani Akali Dal on Thursday performed ‘sewadar’ outside Takht Kesgarh Sahib in Punjab’s Rupnagar district amid tight security after he faced an attempt on his life the day before, reported news agency PTI.
The former Punjab deputy chief minister, who is under Z-level protection, was seen sitting at the entrance of the Anandpur Sahib shrine with a spear in one hand, in a blue ‘sewadar’ uniform.
Sukhbir Singh Badal is currently going through a religious punishment decreed by Akal Takht, the temporal body of Sikhs, for “mistakes” made by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) party and its government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.
The Akal Takht has also directed Sukhbir Badal to perform the duty of ‘sewadar’ at Takht Damdama Sahib, and Darbar Sahib in Muktsar and Fatehgarh Sahib for two days each as well as the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
During the second day of his service at the Golden Temple on Wednesday, Badal survived a close call with a former Khalistani terrorist who fired at him from close range. The shooter missed as he was overpowered by plainclothes policemen nearby.
Ahead of Sukhbir Singh Badal’s visit to Takht Kesgarh Sahi, Rupnagar senior superintendent of police Gulneet Singh Khurana said foolproof security arrangements had been made.
Officials told PTI that plainclothes policemen had been deployed and the police were keeping an eye on things.
Summary: Following a recent assassination attempt, Sukhbir Badal visited Takht Kesgarh Sahib in Punjab to perform sewa, including cleaning religious items. This comes amidst ongoing scrutiny from the Akal Takht over his actions