Nitish Kumar faces attack, is hit on shoulder; man caught

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was assaulted by a man at Bakhtiyarpur, his hometown, in Patna district on Sunday. The CM escaped without serious injury.

The incident came to light when CCTV footage showed a man rushing towards the Chief Minister and hitting him on his shoulder. The incident occurred when Nitish Kumar was trying to pay his respects to the statue of freedom fighter Shilbhadra Yaji, at a local hospital.  The accused was caught by the Chief Minister’s security personnel and handed over to the local police.

Sources from Bakhityarpur said that the police have been directed to investigate and submit a report at the earliest. Reports suggest that the accused belongs to a village near Bakhtiyarpur.

The incident was condemned by political parties here. Terming the incident as a "major breach in Chief Minister's security cover" the JD(U)'s alliance BJP has demanded "probe and stern action against the accused". 

BJP leaders also demanded "an investigation against security personnel who were deployed to ensure the safety of the Chief Minister".

The Opposition RJD in a tweet said that “Any dissatisfaction and anger about unemployment or inflation should be expressed only through democratic means and not through violence”.

This is not the first such incident. Nitish Kumar was earlier attacked when he was addressing a public event in Madhubani during the Assembly elections in November 2020. Few youths who had gathered during his rally tried to throw stones and onions at him during his speech.