No plot, no premeditation; Badal attack was ‘spur-of-the-moment’ act, say cops

Nearly 10 days after Jaspal Singh's arrest for attacking SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal at a gurdwara in Nanded, police investigation reveals no evidence of a premeditated plot. Singh appears to have acted alone, driven by a spur-of-the-moment decision during a meditation session, according to police. Singh claimed he felt morally compelled to attack Badal, blaming him for the escalating drug crisis in Punjab during the SAD-BJP government's decade-long rule.

Police corroborated his claims through technical evidence, interrogation, and statements from those around him before concluding that he acted alone. The officer explained that Singh, a deeply religious person known for his meditation sessions, felt he had to intervene after hearing about Badal's visit to the gurdwara where he was serving.

Singh stated that during a prayer session, he received a call from Waheguru to attack Badal, prompting him to act. After interrogating Singh and recording statements from those present, police determined that he was acting alone and no one else was involved in the attack. Singh was expected to appear before a local court on Monday.

He had left his family in Pune in 2023 and became a Nihang Sikh sevadar in Nanded. Singh, a former lawyer, was with three others when he lunged at Badal with a kirpan during the attack. Badal, 64, suffered a hand injury and was taken to a local hospital. Singh's motive stemmed from the political attacks on the SAD leadership over Punjab's drug problem, with his family also facing scrutiny.

Badal's brother-in-law, SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, was arrested in a narcotics case and later released on bail.