As soon as Guru Harikrishan Sahib left the earthly realm and informed the sangat (congregation) that the next Guru Baba was at Bakala, many Guru-impostors cropped up. These imposters set up their seats at Bakala to lay claims to the Divine throne of Guru Nanak Sahib’s house. There were twenty-two major claimants; among them, the prominent ones were minas of Amritsar and many impostors from the sodhi clan.

The minas were the followers of Prithi Chand, the eldest son of Guru Ramdas Sahib, who had started his own parallel line after the Guru selected his younger son Arjan to succeed him. And among the sodhis, one of the significant claimants was Dhir Mal, who proved to be the biggest troublemaker.

Dhir Mal was the elder son of Baba Gurditta, who was the eldest son of Guru Harigobind Sahib. This was one reason why Dhir Mal believed that he was the rightful owner of the Guruship. His other claim to Guruship was that he had the original Adi Granth, which Bhai Gurdas wrote under the supervision of Guru Arjan Sahib. Custody of the Sikh scripture’s original manuscript (Kartarpuri Bir) had further emboldened him. In terms of familial connection, he was the nephew of Guru Teghbahadar Sahib, Baba Gurditta being the elder brother of Guru Teghbahadar Sahib.

Consequently, Dhir Mal was one of the many claimants sitting in Bakala before Makhan Shah Lubana discovered Guru Teghbahadar Sahib. To establish himself, Dhir Mal ran a parallel court. He hired courtiers to serve him in order to put up a show. Despite this, the Guru was discovered by Makhan Shah and then identified by Baba Gurditta, the head priest, and Divan Dargah Mal, the prime minister of Guru’s court. They offered Guru Teghbahadar Sahib the royal regalia of Guru Harikrishan Sahib, representing the Guru’s status as Guru, thus completing the ceremonial anointment. Once Guru Teghbahadar Sahib was established, the fake gurus started leaving slowly, but Dhir Mal remained adamant and stayed put; he continued to run his parallel court.

However, this still did not satisfy Dhir Mal’s hunger for power; he wanted to sit on the throne of Guru Nanak Sahib’s house. He hired a rogue named Shiha, who further engaged professional mercenaries to eliminate Guru Teghbahadar Sahib. One day, when the Guru’s court was not in session and the attendees had left, the mercenaries attacked the Guru. A few Sikhs, who were still present there, fought the mercenaries, while other Sikhs returned hearing the attack. During this incident, Dhir Mal shot the Guru. But, the attack was foiled, and the Guru only received a bullet scratch. Meanwhile, Dhir Mal’s men looted Sikhs’ offerings and other things from the Guru’s court before running away. The Sikhs chased Dhir Mal and his party up to his dwelling and took away everything, including the offerings, the Kartarpuri Bir, and even Dhir Mal’s personal belongings.

The Sikhs returned to the Guru with the offerings, Kartarpuri Bir and Dhir Mal’s personal items. The Sikh tradition beautifully preserves the Guru’s response when the Guru saw that.

What great did he do by taking away offerings,
but it does not suit us to be perturbed by it.
    - Sukha Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi 10

Additionally, the Guru offered his advice to the Sikhs, which Kavi Santokh Singh records. The Guru asked the Sikhs to forgive Dhir Mal and return all his belongings and what he had looted from the Guru’s court. Since Gurbani (Guru’s word) was dearest to the Sikhs, some Sikhs might have insisted upon keeping at least the Kartarpuri Bir. But the Guru asked the Sikhs to return even that since the light of the Sabad (Infinite Wisdom) was already manifesting in the Person of the Guru.

Source: Politics of the Sword Warrior Guru | Surender Pal Singh | Sikh Research Institute https://share.google/0CAF2BjXn1ZeJqzkT

Painting of Guru Teg Bahadur being confronted by an angry Dhir Mal and his followers. Dhir Mal was the grandson of Guru Hargobind, who wanted to claim the Gurgaddi of the 9th Sikh Guru for himself. Painting by @intrinsikh_arts