On Wednesday, there was a shocking incident at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, where bullets were fired. This happened while leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), including Sukhbir Singh Badal, were doing a service known as ‘seva’ as part of a punishment given by Sri Akal Takht Sahib.
The police arrested a man named Narain Singh Chaura, who tried to shoot Sukhbir Singh Badal. Chaura, a former militant, has been involved in many criminal cases and had been hiding from the law. At the time of the shooting, he was standing very close to Badal. Thankfully, a helper (called a ‘sewadar’) pushed Chaura’s hand up just in time, preventing the bullet from hitting Badal.
Sukhbir Singh Badal was at the Golden Temple to fulfill a religious punishment after the Sikh leaders said he needed to serve. He was in a blue ‘sewadar’ uniform and used a wheelchair because of a broken leg. Alongside him was another senior leader, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, also in a wheelchair due to age, working to show they were serving their ‘tankhah’ (punishment). They cleaned and washed dishes for one hour as part of their duty. Other leaders, like former ministers Bikram Singh Majithia and Daljit Singh Cheema, also helped by cleaning and washing utensils.
Small signs were hung around Badal and Dhindsa’s necks that explained their “mistakes.” This punishment was given for errors made during the Shiromani Akali Dal government’s time from 2007 to 2017.
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