Archive · 14 Aug 2026
Kirpan attack on Sukhbir Badal in Maharashtra; assailant held
A very important Sikh leader named Sukhbir Singh Badal was hurt on Thursday.
He leads a political party called the Shiromani Akali Dal and used to be Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab.
He was at a Sikh temple called a gurdwara in the city of Nanded.
A man dressed like a Nihang, a kind of Sikh warrior, attacked him with a kirpan, which is a special curved sword.
Badal hurt his hand and had to go to the hospital.
Police caught the man, whose name is Jaspal Singh and who comes from the city of Pune.
Maharashtra's Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, asked officers to investigate what happened.
This was not the first time Badal was attacked—about two years earlier, someone shot at him at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Nihangs are special Sikh warriors who wear blue clothes and follow strict rules that go back to the time of Guru Gobind Singh.
Shiromani Akali Dal president and former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, 64, was injured in a kirpan attack at a gurdwara in Nanded, Maharashtra, on Thursday.
The alleged assailant, 62-year-old Jaspal Singh from Pune, who was dressed as a Nihang, was arrested by police.
Badal sustained a hand injury and was taken to a local hospital, where he was seen with a cloth wrapped around his right hand.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a probe into the incident and spoke to Badal to enquire about his well-being.
It was the second attack on the SAD chief in less than two years; in December 2024, a former militant fired at him at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
- Who
- Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of the Shiromani Akali Dal and former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab; the attacker was 62-year-old Jaspal Singh from Pune, dressed as a Nihang.
- What
- Badal was attacked with a kirpan at a gurdwara, sustaining a hand injury; the assailant was arrested.
- When
- Thursday, August 13, 2026.
- Where
- Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji, Mugat, in Nanded, Maharashtra.
- Why
- The articles do not report a motive for the attack.
- Victim
- Sukhbir Singh Badal, Shiromani Akali Dal president and former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister, aged 64
- Attack location
- Gurdwara Mata Sahib Devan Ji, Mugat, Nanded, Maharashtra
- Injury
- Hand injury; taken to a local hospital
- Assailant
- Jaspal Singh, 62, from Pune, dressed as a Nihang
- Assailant status
- Arrested by police
- Response
- Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a probe and spoke to Badal about his well-being
- Previous attack
- December 4, 2024: shooting at the Golden Temple in Amritsar by former militant Narain Singh Chaura; the bullet missed