PUNE: The man accused of attacking Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal with a kirpan at Mata Sahib Devaji Gurdwara in Nanded on Thursday has deep roots in Pune city, police said.A Pune crime branch officer told TOI that the assailant, Jaspal Singh Teja Singh Aidal (62), had spent most of his life in the city’s Camp area before shifting to the Nanded two years ago for religious service.A law graduate, Singh tried multiple professions in Pune over the years. Police inquiries revealed that he practised law for some time, ran a small newspaper and also operated a snacks centre in the Camp area for about three years before shutting it down.Singh’s wife, a teacher at an English-medium school in Camp, continues to live in the family’s first-floor flat along with their nephew, while their married daughter resides in the city’s Lullanagar area. “His wife and others told us that he hardly contacted his family members,” deputy commissioner of police (Crime) Gauhar Hassan said.The crime branch questioned Singh’s family members to ascertain his background in the evening. Later, a team of the state Anti-Terrorism Squad visited his home in the Solapur Bazaar area of Camp. The police search at his residence continued till late in the night looking for any literature or documents, but nothing suspicious was found till the time of going to press.An officer said Singh had moved to Nanded in 2024 to perform ‘seva’ at Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib Gurdwara. Accompanied by wife and SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Badal had visited the Mata Sahib Devaji Gurdwara after offering prayers at Sachkhand Gurdwara.The police are now piecing together Singh’s movements and activities between his shift from Pune and the attack in Nanded to ascertain the motive behind the incident.
