India: Assailant held after failed shooting of Sikh leader

A gunman was arrested in the Indian city of Amritsar on Wednesday after failing to assassinate prominent Sikh leader Sukhbir Singh Badal at the religion's holiest shrine.

"Security of Sukhbir Singh Badal has been tightened. The assailant is in police custody and investigation is in process," senior Punjab state police officer Harpal Singh said in a press briefing.

He added that the attacker had fired a single shot at the politician but missed, hitting a marble pillar at the Harmandir Sahib, or Golden Temple, instead.

The 62-year-old Badal was sitting outside the temple holding a spear as an act of contrition imposed by other Sikh leaders for mishandling state affairs during his time as deputy chief minister of Punjab.

The shooter has been identified as Narain Singh, 68. In video footage shared on local media, Singh can be seen approaching Badal on the steps of the temple and firing a stray shot before being pushed down and apprehended by plainclothes police officers.

Starting point of anti-Sikh riots

This incident was not the first time Harmandir Sahib has been the site of violence. In 1984, armed Sikh activists who were demanding an independent state, barricaded themselves in the temple. They were massacred by Indian special forces with hundreds, mostly civilians, killed.

Later that year, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards, prompting lynchings of thousands of Sikhs across India.

Every year since 1999, Badal has taken part in protests against the central government in New Dehli, demanding justice for victims of the anti-Sikh riots.

es/rc (AFP, Reuters)