India, Dec. 6 -- Narain Singh Chaura, who attempted to assassinate former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal at the Golden Temple, acted alone and was "self-motivated," preliminary police investigation revealed, even as Badal returned on Thursday to take up sewadar duty as part of his atonement.

While investigators haven't completely ruled out a larger conspiracy, initial probe suggests Chaura, an ex-militant with over 30 terror-related cases against him, planned the assassination only after Akal Takht pronounced its verdict on Badal regarding the Bargari sacrilege case.

"Because Chaura has remained a hardcore terrorist in the past, breaking him during interrogation isn't easy. So far, he maintains he was self-motivated, claiming that ...