Nanded (Maharashtra), Aug 14: A day after Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal was attacked by a man dressed as a Nihang in Maharashtra’s Nanded, he alleged that the “mission” of the attack was to “disturb peace in Punjab”, which he would “never allow”.

“Their mission is to take control of the situation in Punjab and disturb peace, which, as President of Akali Dal, I will never allow,” the SAD chief told reporters after his discharge from a hospital following a surgery on his right hand, which was injured in the attack.

The former Punjab President added: “Neither my father allowed it. Both times, they attacked me in the holiest places — first in the Golden Temple, and second at Takht Hazur Sahib.”

In 2024, an attempt to assassinate Badal was made while he was serving his penance at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Badal further said: “I have always said that no one can harm those who are protected by the almighty…I thank Guru Gobind Singh ji on whose land I had arrived. The enemies of the country and of Punjab tried (to attack me), but I have been saved by Guru Gobind Singh ji.”

“I am not afraid, neither have I ever been so. I only want to state that Shiromani Akali Dal can make all kinds of sacrifice, but we are committed to communal harmony and brotherhood in Punjab,” he asserted.

The person who attacked the Akali Dal chief with a Kirpan at Mata Sahib Gurdwara premises in the Hazur Sahib area of Nanded was taken into custody soon after the incident.

Visuals showed Sukhbir Singh Badal walking inside a hospital building with a cloth wrapped around his right hand.

Several political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, had called the SAD chief’s wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal to enquire about his health, following the attack on him.

Meanwhile, SAD Vice President and Member of Punjab Core Committee Sanjeev Talwar on Thursday referred to the attack on Badal as “direct attack on Sikhism”.

“Sukhbir Singh Badal wants to again raise the slogan of Hindu-Sikh unity in Punjab. I feel this could be a conspiracy by those who want to take Punjab back to 1984,” Talwar told media.

SAD’s chief spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler had also blamed “anti-Sikh forces” for repeated attempts to attack the party chief.

New Delhi, Aug 14: Five places in the national Capital received bomb threats a day before the nation celebrates its 80th Independence Day, officials of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said on Friday.

According to the DFS, the locations in Delhi which received calls alleging bomb blasts are Jamnagar House, Jhandewalan Flatted Factory Complex, District Magistrate Office in Saket, Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport and SDM Office at Delhi Cantt.

Fire tenders have been dispatched to all these locations. However, nothing suspicious has been found during the investigation so far, officials said.

Similarly, an email sent to the Delhi Mayor’s office on August 3 threatened multiple bomb blasts at the Red Fort on August 15, prompting security agencies in the capital city to spring into action to comb the entire area around the iconic monument.

As soon as the Mayor’s office received the bomb threat by email, it alerted the Delhi Police and other security agencies.

Soon after receiving the alert, police personnel, bomb disposal squads, and other security teams rushed to the historic Red Fort and carried out extensive sanitisation and inspection of the premises, an official said.

Delhi Police sources said that after receiving the information about the bomb threat, the security of the area was beefed up and an investigation was launched.

On July 11, a bomb threat targeting the Red Fort had also triggered a major security response, prompting police and security agencies to conduct a comprehensive combing exercise at the monument before declaring the threat to be a hoax.

According to Delhi Police, last month’s threat originated from a phone call made to the Mumbai Police Control Room, during which the caller allegedly claimed that the historic Red Fort would be blown up. Mumbai Police immediately relayed the information to the Delhi Police Control Room, which alerted the North District Police to initiate security measures.

After thoroughly checking the area, police officials found no suspicious object or explosive material and confirmed that the threat was false.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the nation from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort on August 15, Saturday. The event is expected to draw large crowds and involve extensive restrictions on movement in the capital city.

Mumbai, Aug 14: In a major push towards leveraging information technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver fast, seamless, and transparent public services, the Maharashtra state government will issue an integrated digital identification number called the ‘Maha-ID’ to every citizen. This will not be an entirely separate identity document, but an integrated identifier linked directly to the individual’s Aadhaar card.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed all government departments to harness AI and IT solutions to ensure citizens can access public services directly from their homes. The Maha-ID serves as a central component of this digital governance initiative.

By providing just their Maha-ID, residents will be able to access schemes, information, subsidies, and services across various state departments. Since government databases already hold key records — such as domicile certificates, income certificates, and ration card details — citizens will no longer need to resubmit physical documents for every application. The initiative is expected to be outlined by the Chief Minister around Independence Day, with an official project launch following shortly after.

The unified system is set to directly benefit students, farmers, senior citizens, women entrepreneurs, and economically weaker sections. Currently, students applying for state scholarships must register separately on education portals. Farmers applying for subsidies are repeatedly required to submit identity, land, and bank details. Similarly, beneficiaries of social welfare schemes often have to resubmit certificates that are already present in other department records.

By eliminating the hassle of creating multiple accounts, remembering various usernames and passwords, and undergoing repeated identity verification, the initiative aims to drastically simplify citizen interactions with the state administration. Through the combined integration of the Maha-ID and the ‘Maha-Sarathi’ portal, various government departments and digital platforms will be interlinked, creating a highly interoperable digital governance network. As state departments synchronise their data, information required by one department can automatically be fetched from another, eliminating operational silos.

The government sources said, “The platform will be executed through the ‘Maha-Sarathi’ platform under the Electronics, Information Technology, and Artificial Intelligence Department. Citizens will register and submit the necessary details on the designated portal. A digital Maha-ID incorporating the citizen’s Aadhaar framework will be generated. Citizens can use this single ID to apply for various government services.”

Sources added that previously verified data will be reused automatically across eligible services, doing away with redundant document submissions.