Chandigarh (PTI): The Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday accused the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab of using religion as a shield to target its president, Sukhbir Singh Badal, and frame him in a false case as part of a political vendetta.

Addressing a press conference here, senior Akali leaders Balwinder Singh Bhundur, Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Daljit Singh Cheema alleged that the AAP government started targeting the SAD leadership after failing politically.

They also alleged that the attack on Badal at the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, where he was serving a religious penance (‘seva’), in December 2024, was government-sponsored, which was followed by the harassment of income tax lawyers associated with the SAD chief in Ludhiana and Bathinda.

The SAD leaders said Badal will not be intimidated by such tactics and will continue to expose the AAP government's “anti-Punjab policies”.

They also claimed that attempts were being made to link the arrest of an accountant hired by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) with the issue of 328 missing 'saroops' (sacred copies) of the Guru Granth Sahib to target Badal, alleging that the main accused in the case was a former SGPC employee now associated with the AAP.

The SAD leaders also accused AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal of pursuing a personal vendetta against former SAD minister Bikram Singh Majithia after being forced to apologise to him over alleged baseless charges.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested Majithia on June 25 last year in a disproportionate assets case that allegedly involved the accumulation of Rs 540 crore of wealth.

The SAD leaders claimed that despite intelligence inputs suggesting a threat to Majithia from the Babbar Khalsa International, adequate security had not been ensured for the jailed leader.

Alleging a threat to his life, they demanded that Majithia be shifted from the Nabha jail to a designated secure prison, warning that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Kejriwal would be responsible if any harm came to him.

Cheema said a SAD delegation will soon seek an appointment with the Punjab governor (Gulab Chand Kataria) to apprise him of what he described as a conspiracy against the SAD leadership.

He also accused the AAP of targeting the SGPC, the Akal Takht Sahib and mediapersons critical of the state government.

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Thane (PTI): An HR manager was cheated of Rs 36.74 lakh in an online investment fraud, a Navi Mumbai police official said on Sunday.

The victim was contacted by a woman claiming she represented a SEBI-registered firm and was added to a Whatsapp group with the promise of high returns in share trading, the Nerul police station official said.

"He downloaded a link given to him by the accused. After an initial profit of Rs 50,000, he made investments totalling Rs 36.74 lakh between August and September 2025. However, when he was unable to withdraw his so-called profits, the HR manager realised he had been duped," Nerul police station inspector Bramhanand Naikwadi said.

A case has been registered against unidentified persons for criminal breach of trust and other offences under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Information Technology Act, he added.