Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the latest victim of a shoe attack during the current election campaign when a computer engineering student hurled a sneaker towards him while he was addressing his first poll rally in Gujarat but it fell way short of the target.
Shortly after the incident at the Tagore hall ground here in the afternoon sent the SPG and other security personnel in a tizzy, the prime minister forgave the youth identified as Hitesh Chauhan, a 21-year-old resident of Bapunagar pursuing a computer course in a local engineering college. Singh did not want the police to register any case against the youth.
"After PM's speech was over, he called me and said don't press formal charges against the boy. I have forgiven him," Congress Legislature Party leader Shaktisingh Govil told PTI. "I have conveyed this to police officials who were present at the meeting venue," Gohil added.
The prime minister continued with this speech after the incident.Chauhan, who was sitting on the front row among the audience, was quickly whisked away by the security personnel for questioning by the crime branch. The motive was known amid reports that the youth flung the shoe to get publicity. As Chauhan began to hurl his shoe in the direction of the Prime Minister who had just started his speech, security personnel grabbed him. The shoe landed several feet away from the stage where the prime minister was seated. The distance between the security railing near where Chauhan stood and the stage was about 100 feet. Pradesh Congress Committee president Siddharth Patel alleged that Chauhan is associated with BJP's student outfit ABVP.
Image: Hitesh Chauhan, the student who threw a shoe at Manmohan Singh's rally in Ahmedabad, being led away by the Police.
Photograph: Mayur Bhatt
