PATNA: In a major security breach, a youth in his early 30s assaulted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar when he had gone to pay tributes to the statue of a freedom fighter at Bakhtiyarpur near Patna on Sunday.
The youth, identified as Shankar Kumar Verma aka Chhotu, a resident of Abbu Mohammadpur, was immediately taken into custody by the CM’s security personnel and handed over to the local police for questioning. The incident, however, left senior officials at the police headquarters red-faced. All senior police officers were tight-lipped and avoided calls from the media.
However, a police officer posted at Bakhtiyarpur said the youth dodged the security cordon and attacked the chief minister from behind. The incident took place at around 5 pm when Nitish was paying floral tributes to freedom fighter Kumar Sheel Bhandra, who was an associate of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. The youth punched his right shoulder before being overpowered. In a CCTV footage, the CM is seen directing the security men to restrain themselves and find out what’s was the matter with the assailant.
The local police said the accused appeared to be mentally unsound. “He is being quizzed by senior officers,” said an officer posted at Bakhtiyarpur. The district administration said there were instructions from the CM that no punitive action be taken and him and he be provided medical support. Kumar was in Bakhtiyarpur as part of his public outreach programme. He has been touring areas falling under the now abolished Lok Sabha constituency of Barh, which he had represented several times.
Bakhtiyarpur happens to be Nitish’s ‘karmabhumi’. His father used to practice Ayurveda there and he spent his early childhood there. This is not the first time Nitish has been attacked. In October in 2018, a youth threw slippers at him when he was attending a function in Patna. On January 18 the same year, his cavalcade was pelted with stones while returning to Patna from Buxar. In November 2020, onions were hurled at Nitish by a mob in Madhubani district.