Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal was attacked in a gurdwara in Maharashtra’s Nanded district, allegedly by a man dressed as a Nihang Sikh. The former Punjab deputy chief minister suffered injuries to his arm and shoulder, and was taken to a hospital.

The motive for the attack is not clear. The attack took place in Nanded’s Gurdwara Mata Sahib.

A spokesperson for the Shiromani Akali Dal said that Badal is “perfectly fine” and out of danger.

This is the second attack Badal has faced. On December 4, 2024, former militant Narain Singh Chaura had opened fire at the Akali Dal chief at the Golden Temple in Amritsar but missed. Read on.

An Uttar Pradesh court approved the prosecution’s request to withdraw a case related to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots against 25 Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and persons associated with Hindutva groups. They were facing trial for allegedly violating orders prohibiting public gatherings and for inciting communal tensions.

The court on Wednesday allowed the case to be dropped against state minister Kapil Dev Agarwal, former Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan, former state minister Suresh Rana, ex-BJP MPs Bhartendu Singh and Sohanvir Singh, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sadhvi Prachi, among others.

Communal violence had erupted in Muzaffarnagar in September 2013 after BJP leaders, including Suresh Rana, former party MLA Sangeet Som and former MP Bharatendra Singh, allegedly made inflammatory speeches.

At least 60 persons were killed and thousands of Muslim families were displaced in riots that followed. Read on.

The Jharkhand Police has registered a first information report against 300 unidentified persons for violating orders prohibiting public gatherings and damaging government property during the student protesters’ march to the state Assembly on Monday. The march was organised as part of an agitation against the alleged irregularities in competitive examinations conducted for state government jobs.

Ranchi Superintendent of Police Paras Rana said that the FIR has been registered “for disrupting the peaceful march”.

The unidentified persons have also been booked for attacking police personnel. The police are trying to identify the individuals responsible for the violence through video footage. Read on.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday alleged in Parliament that persons associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party had performed a ritual to “purify” the ground in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani where he addressed a rally on August 8. Kharge, the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, demanded that those who had performed the ritual should be arrested.

The purification ritual was performed by a group called the Shri Ram Sena. The Congress’ Uttarakhand unit had alleged that the group is associated with the BJP. However, the Hindutva party has denied association with the group.

Union minister JP Nadda said that the BJP “does not subscribe to such activities” and the incident would be investigated. Read on.

A clash erupted between protesters from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, during which the Arunachal Pradesh Police fired in the air to control the mob on their side. The confrontation occurred in Assam’s Dhemaji district, a day after a student organisation of the state’s Mising community, along with other local groups, launched an economic blockade against Arunachal Pradesh.

The blockade was imposed in response to firing allegedly by “miscreants” from Arunachal Pradesh that injured 12 persons from Assam on Monday.

The clash on Monday had erupted after a dispute about alleged land encroachment by people from Arunachal Pradesh in Assam, police had said. Read on.

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