‘150 stitches’: Harsimrat demands NIA probe into Sukhbir Badal attack, writes to Amit Shah

Harsimrat, the sole SAD representative in the Lok Sabha from Bathinda, confirmed she has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking an investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

In her letter to Amit Shah, Harsimrat wrote that a “heinous assassination bid” was made against her husband in Nanded.

“I write with a mix of personal pain and profound concern for our society, our state of Punjab and our country, particularly over the manner in which violence is being normalised and even justified by persons holding positions of power in Punjab… my husband and I, accompanied by our children, were coming out after paying obeisance at the sacred Guru Ghar at Nanded Sahib when an assailant, unknown to us, attacked Mr Badal with a sword with the clear intent of assassinating him,” reads the letter.

In her letter, she also highlighted a previous attack on December 4, 2024, when an armed man fired at Sukhbir Badal at the Golden Temple in Amritsar while he was performing seva.

Allegations against AAP and Punjab Police

Linking the two incidents, Harsimrat alleged a political conspiracy backed by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab.

She said that in the December 2024 Amritsar attack, the gunman, identified as former militant Narain Singh Chaura, opened fire at the Golden Temple complex before being tackled.

“He has been described as a listed extremist, a self-proclaimed terrorist and an alleged IS operative….. Despite this, he was allegedly allowed to move freely within the premises… More disturbing are the circumstances surrounding the assailant’s interactions with senior police officers before the attack,” she wrote.

“Senior local police officer Harpal Singh Randhawa, then SP, was seen mixing freely with the assailant and sharing jokes and
laughter with him two days before the assassination attempt…. The conduct of the then Amritsar Police Commissioner, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, following the December 4 attack was equally alarming. Within minutes of the incident, instead of allowing the investigation to establish the facts, he appeared to exonerate the assailant and even suggested that the attack could have been staged by Mr Badal himself to garner sympathy…,” wrote Harsimrat.

“The conduct of the Punjab Government and its handling of the subsequent investigation also raises serious questions about the fairness and independence of the process. Instead of unequivocally condemning the attack and pursuing the assailant, senior members of the government have publicly appeared to justify the act as an expression of understandable anger,” she wrote.

She criticised the state government for allegedly weakening the case, enabling the suspect to walk free within three months. Harsimrat hit out at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, stating he failed even to condemn the violence. “The previous attack was done at the behest of the AAP government… and that is probably why another attack happened,” she alleged.

In her appeal to Amit Shah, Harsimrat urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate whether a broader network or foreign conspiracy linked the two attacks.

“Only an independent central investigation can establish the full chain of events, identify the individuals and organisations involved, determine whether the two attacks are connected…” she wrote.