Man held with gun near Rahul's march 'innocent'

The Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday claimed that Hari Mohan Sharma, the man who was nabbed with a gun at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's padayatra, was innocent.

Sharma was detained while trying to move close to the Congress general secretary during the latter's padayatra to Aligarh.

Sharma, who was carrying a .32 bore revolver, was nabbed by the Special Protection Group personnel when he was found nearing the second ring of the Congress leader's security cordon.

The incident took place two hours after Gandhi resumed his foot march to Aligarh on the third day of his much-hyped padayatra.

The state police also refused to admit that Sharma's presence was a 'security breach'.

 "When a top SPG - covered VIP walks in without proper intimation to the state government, how can you term this incident as a breach of security," said Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police Satyendra Vir Singh.

"Neither was his programme given to us nor the route, so how can we take steps to secure any place? And that is the reason the state government has been repeatedly writing to the Union home ministry to abide by the security protocol laid down for all those covered by SPG. But in case of Mr Rahul Gandhi, when rules are not followed, how can you describe an incident like this as a security breach," he said.

Singh added, "Sharma, the middle-aged man taken into custody by the SPG in Jikarpur village under Tappal police station appeared to be absolutely innocent."

"After he was handed over to the state police, we have questioned him and also made all necessary inquiries which clearly suggest that there was nothing suspicious about him and he had no malafide intention," Singh said.

He added, "Sharma was travelling with his family in his private car when he encountered Rahul Gandhi's procession. Out of sheer curiosity, he got off and moved ahead to get a closer look of the Congress leader when he was intercepted by the SPG, who subsequently handed him over to us."

Sharma works as a pharmacist in a private hospital near Tappal village.