New Delhi:
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief and former Punjab deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal was on the hit list of the terror module that carried out the September 2016 blasts in Tarn Taran of Punjab, a probe into the case has revealed. In the incident, two persons were killed and one was seriously injured. The blast took place when three of them were digging a pit at an agricultural field to retrieve a dumped explosive consignment, which they mishandled.
Badal’s killing was planned to avenge the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari during his Amritsar visit on November 2016. According to the Hindustan Times report, "accused Malkiat Singh Shera, revealed that kingpin Bikram Singh Panjwar planned to attack Sukhbir Singh Badal during his Golden Temple visit." However, the plan failed after the former chief minister arrived at the Golden Temple amid tight security.
Earlier, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is probing the case arrested the "main accused and the conspirator" of the accidental blast. The agency had said that Gurjant Singh, a resident of Bachhre village in Tarn Taran, was arrested immediately after his release from a private hospital where he was admitted after receiving injuries in the explosion that took place at the outskirts of Pandori Gola village in Tarn Taran town on September 4.
