Shoe attack on Indian PM in Gujarat, misses him

Ahmedabad, Apr 26 (PTI) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh Sunday became the latest target of a shoe attack during
an election campaign when a computer engineering student
hurled a sneaker towards him but it fell short of the dais
from where he was addressing his first poll rally in western
state of Gujarat.

Shortly after the incident at the Tagore hall ground here
put the security personnel in a tizzy, the prime minister did
not want the police to register any case against the shoe
thrower identified as Hitesh Chauhan, a 21-year-old resident
of Bapunagar pursuing a computer course in a local engineering
college.

Singh spoke to Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader
Shaktisingh Govil and told him to communicate to the police
not to press any charge against Chauhan who was quickly
whisked away by the security personnel from the ground for
questioning by the crime branch.

Chauhan was sitting on the front row and took out his
shoee and was about to hurl it in the direction of the Prime
Minister who had just started his speech when security
personnel grabbed him. The shoe fell a few feet away
from where the prime minister was seated. The distance between
the security railing and the stage where the prime minister
was seated on the dais was about 30 feet.

The prime minister continued with this speech before
proceeding to attend another rally.

"After PM's speech was over, he called me and said
don't press formal charges against the boy. I have forgiven
him," Govil, who is also the Leader of the Opposition the
state assembly told PTI.

"I have conveyed this to police officials who were
present at the meeting venue," Gohil added.

The shoeslinging trend during the current poll campaign
started in New Delhi on April 7 when a Sikh journalist hurled
a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram protesting against CBI's
clean chit to senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler accused in
1984 anti-Sikh riots case, but it missed the target.

Later on April 10, a retired school teacher hurled his
shoe towards Congress MP Navin Jindal in Kurukshetra "to
protest" against Congress' policies. This shoe too missed its
target.

The incident was condemned by the Congress and the BJP
as an unestablished means of protest in a democracy. PTI PB
PMR
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