Sukhbir escapes life bid; shooter nabbed

PROVIDENTIAL | Assailant has 'Khalistani' antecedents; he was loitering on the temple premises for two days

- Rajesh Moudgil

Senior Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday morning survived an attempt on his life when a purportedly 'Khalistani militant' shot at him outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, where Sukhbir was serving his religious punishment as a "sevadar" while confined to a wheelchair. His former Cabinet colleague Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa was at his side when the incident happened.

While the former deputy chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal chief, Sukhbir, 62, escaped unhurt as the bullet hit a wall, the shooter, identified as Narain Singh Chaura, was instantly nabbed by the police from the spot.

The shooter Chaura, it is claimed, was also named as the mastermind of the sensational 2004 Burail jail break in Chandigarh and was wanted in several other terror-related cases.