Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was slapped by a youth at Bakhtiyarpur in Patna district on Sunday afternoon.
The incident has revealed a serious lapse in his security, which is taken care of by the state police’s Special Security Group (SSG), raised to protect him. The National Security Guards (NSG) has also trained it.
Nitish is on a two-day visit to the erstwhile Barh Lok Sabha constituency that sent him five times to the Lok Sabha before he became chief minister for the first time in 2005.
A video of the incident shows Nitish Kumar walking towards a statue to pay floral tributes. He reaches a small platform or dais in front of it and proceeds to climb the stairs. The personnel from the SSG stop at the base of the dais. Suddenly, a youth in his 20s, clad in a grey T-shirt and dark colour trousers, comes walking fast from behind, cuts through the security personnel, climbs to the dais and slaps Nitish on his shoulder while he is bowing down to place a garland in front of the statue.
The video shows that Nitish is taken aback and goes a step sideways due to the force of the slap. The security personnel then pounce on the youth, push him to a corner of the dais, and start thrashing him.
However, Nitish gained composure within a few seconds and stopped the security personnel from beating the attacker. The youth was later whisked away to Bakhtiyarpur police station and was being interrogated there.
The Patna district administration issued a press release saying that the youth who attacked the chief minister has been identified as 32-year-old Shankar Kumar Verma alias Chhotu.
“He is a resident of Bakhtiyarpur municipal council area and seemed mentally ill. His family members also confirmed it. He is separated from his wife and children, and has tried to commit suicide twice. The incident is being probed and responsibility is being fixed,” the release said.
The statement also said that Nitish has directed the officials not to initiate any action against the youth.