Narain Singh Chaura: The Man Who Fired At Sukhbir Singh Badal At Golden Temple

Narain Singh opened fire at former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal this morning at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

New Delhi:

Narain Singh Chaura, the man who allegedly has links to the Khalistani terrorist group Babbar Khalsa, was arrested for opening fire at former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal this morning. He tried to attack Mr Badal while he was serving his penance at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Sukhbir Singh Badal escaped unhurt as Chaura was overpowered by people present on the spot.

The incident occurred around 9 am shortly after Mr Badal, who was in a wheelchair, had taken the 'sewadar's' place at the gate of the Golden Temple.

Visuals from the spot show Chaura slowly approaching the gate and then taking a gun out of his pocket. A man standing near Mr Badal quickly spotted him and held his hands.

The gun goes off but narrowly misses Mr Badal and others near him and hits the wall.

Who Is Narain Singh Chaura

Narain Singh Chaura is a resident of a village called Chaura in Punjab's Gurdaspur district, some 60 kilometres from Golden Temple.

He was born on April 4, 1956, to Chanam Singh and Gurnam Kaur.

According to sources in the security establishment, Chaura is associated with the banned pro-Khalistan group Babbar Khalsa or Babbar Khalsa International.

The 68-year-old is also considered the mastermind of Chandigarh's 2004 Burail jailbreak case in which four inmates escaped prison after digging a 104-foot tunnel. These four prisoners were Babbar Khalsa chief Jagtar Singh Hawara, former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh's assassins Paramjit Singh Bheora and Jagtar Singh Tara and a murder convict Devi Singh.

Chaura was arrested in 2013 in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He was released on bail five years later.

Sukhbir Singh Badal Serving Punishment At Golden Temple

Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday started his penance by serving the religious punishment given to him by the highest temporal body of Sikhs in a sacrilege case.

The Akali Dal chief sat in a wheelchair at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, wearing a plaque around his neck and holding a spear, visuals showed.

Mr Badal has been sentenced by the Akal Takht to perform as a 'sewadar' and given clean duty in the kitchen and toilet at several gurdwaras, including the Golden Temple, for favouring Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the 2015 sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib.