In a major security lapse, two motorcyclists on Thursday came dangerously close to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who was having an early morning stroll on a street adjoining his residence.
This was confirmed by Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Rajiv Mishra, who held a press conference nearly 12 hours after the incident took place at 6.40 am on the Desh Ratna Marg.
"The motorcyclists, whose identity is being withheld since they could be minors, have been detained for questioning. They were intercepted at the spot by the VVIP's entourage," he said.
Senior officials had remained tight-lipped all through the day even as a section of the media came up with unverified accounts, even claiming that the septuagenarian CM 'jumped onto the footpath' to save himself from being knocked down.
The SSP did not comment on these versions but said, "So far, the interrogation suggests that the duo belongs to Masaurhi on the outskirts of the city and has been involved in petty crimes."
"At around 5.40 am today, they indulged in a chain-snatching incident at Shri Krishna Puri locality of the city. Another accomplice was with them who got down from the motorcycle with the stolen item," he said.
"The motorcyclists were wary of being caught and thought it would be safe to zip through the VVIP area which has thin traffic. They sped past a couple of police barricades that came their way before losing balance when the VVIP's security intercepted them," said the SSP.
Their mobile phones have been seized and were being examined along with the CCTV footage of the entire route they had covered.
Searches were being conducted at their homes and the third accomplice, who has also been identified, was being traced.
Replying to a query, the SSP said, "It is a major security lapse for which accountability will be fixed and appropriate action will be taken. However, right now our top priority is to put in place a system that prevents recurrence of such incidents."
