Blaming the ruling AAP government, opposition parties questioned the security lapses in the Golden Temple and demanded a high court monitored probe.Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader and brother-in-law of Sukhbir Badal, Bikram Singh Majithia, said the murderous attack was aimed at finishing the moderate Akali leadership of Punjab and spoiling the peace in the border state by creating a communal divide. “We demand a high court monitored probe into the entire incident to unmask the entire conspiracy behind it,” he said.Majithia said the ‘sewa’ as mandated by Akal Takht will continue unabated. We will not be cowed down by such cowardly attacks”.Hitting out at chief minister Bhagwant Mann for taking “fake credit” for nabbing the accused, Majithia displayed video evidence to show the state police was nowhere near the scene of the crime and the militant was allowed to approach the Akali leader despite Punjab Police claims that the attacker was under surveillance. “This indicates that this was part of a pre-planned attack and that the attacker was a sponsored hit man of ISI and agencies besides being a close associate of Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.”Pointing out that Chaura was the brother of Narinder Singh Chaura, Majithia said, “Congress leader Sukhjinder Randhawa got Narinder elected to the Panchayat Samiti unanimously.” He also asserted that two cases against Chaura were cancelled when the Congress was in power and that he was also freed in 2018 when Randhawa was a minister in the Congress government.He said, “The state DGP and Amritsar police have a lot to answer for.” He said the police should explain how a dreaded militant was allowed to roam in the Golden Temple complex for two days and why he was not nabbed earlier.Randhawa denied allegations that he was instrumental in making Chaura a member. “Whenever an incident involves a gangster or militant, my name is unnecessarily dragged into it,” he said.He criticized the Punjab Police for their failure to prevent the incident. “Everybody in the police department knew Chaura was living in Dera Baba Nanak and had militant leanings. He should have been taken into preventative custody,” he added.Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann strongly condemned the attack and directed police to investigate the incident. The chief minister also lauded the promptness of the Punjab Police. “Punjab Police prevented a major incident from happening today. It is the result of the promptness of the Punjab Police that the conspiracy to defame Punjab and Punjabis has failed,” Mann said in a post on X.
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