16:40
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday said party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was fine and in "hight spirit" after a man in a 'nihang' attire attacked him with a knife inside a gurdwara in Maharashtra's Nanded.
Badal, the former deputy chief minister of Punjab, was attacked by the man around 1.45 pm with a kirpan (ceremonial dagger worn by Sikhs) when he was visiting the Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji Mugat, according to the Maharashtra Police.
Nanded SP Neelabh Rohan told PTI, "A nihang (member of a martial order of Sikhs) attacked Badal with a kirpan inside the gurdwara." The assailant has been taken into custody.
Visuals showed Badal walking inside a building with a cloth wrapped around his right hand.
The SAD chief was rushed to a private hospital for treatment. Badal was accompanied by his wife and Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal at the time of the incident.
SAD spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said the man, dressed in 'nihang' (member of a martial order of Sikhs) attire, attempted to attack Badal but was stopped by the security guards deployed with the SAD chief.
Badal is a Z+ security protectee.
"Badal sustained a minor injury on his arm and is undergoing treatment at a hospital. He is completely fine and in 'Chardi Kala' (high spirits)," Kler said. -- PTI
