Senior journalist. Rajesh Sharma/ Chandigarh.
The alleged criminal Narayan Singh Chaura, who fired at Sukhbir Badal, was once a terrorist. He was allegedly associated with the extremist Liberation Force and Akal Federation. Several dozen cases were registered against him in the past. Narayan Singh Chaura is a resident of Dera Baba Nanak (District Girardaspur). The accused is a radical and belongs to Dal Khalsa.
Chaura was arrested from Jalalabad village in Tarn Taran on 28 February 2013 and his associates Sukhdev Singh and Gurinder Singh were arrested from Pandori village in the district on the same day. After interrogating them, the police raided a hideout in Kurali village in Mohali and claimed to have recovered a cache of arms and ammunition. Nearly a dozen cases were registered against him under the Explosives Act at Civil Lines police station in Amritsar on May 8, 2010. He was also wanted in cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ropar districts.
An Amritsar court had acquitted him in a case under the Explosives Act. Chaura went to Pakistan in 1984 and was instrumental in smuggling large consignments of arms and explosives into Punjab during the early phase of terrorism. While in Pakistan, he allegedly wrote a book on guerrilla warfare and seditious literature. He was also an accused in the Burail jailbreak case.
Meanwhile, Akali leader Daljit Cheema alleged that the accused Chaura’s brother is very close to Congress MP Sukhjinder Randhawa. He has questioned the Mann government and demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter.
Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav said that it is very sad that an attempt was made to assassinate Sukhbir Badal. On the other hand, SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami said that we will investigate it thoroughly through our sources. The attacker has been caught by the police and taken away…Guru Ramdas saved Sukhbir Singh Badal…we are investigating the security arrangements.
On the other hand, BJP’s state press secretary Hardev Singh Ubha said that I strongly condemn the attack on Sukhbir Singh Badal, the accused should be given severe punishment and the negligence in Sukhbir Singh Badal’s security should be investigated.
Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Vading has condemned this attack. Vading said that this should not have happened. I consider the firing on Sukhbir Badal as 100 percent negligence of the government…this reflects the law and order situation in Punjab. Whoever has fired the bullet should get the harshest punishment. I strongly condemn this. He demanded that the ACP should be suspended, immediate action should be taken against him. How did this happen?
Congress MP Manish Tiwari called the attack extremely sad and condemnable. Sri Akal Takht Sahib is the biggest religious institution of the Sikhs and Sukhbir Singh Badal was serving his sentence, but attacking him is highly condemnable. This should be investigated and action should be taken against those responsible.