Real target ducks, Prasad hit

Former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad received a bullet injury in his left arm on Thursday when a gunman opened fire on the dais from which he had just finished addressing an election rally at Nokha, about 25 km from Sasaram.

The assailant fired several shots from a country-made handgun at around 2 p.m. before he was overpowered by BJP workers. Eyewitnesses said the man was carrying a second pistol which he could not fire.

He was identified as Munna Rai, alias Halchal Rai, of Karahasi village under Nokha police station of Sasaram. Rohtas district magistrate Vivek Singh told agencies that Munna Rai, who was nearly beaten to death after the attack, was in coma and the chances of his survival were very remote.

On stage
Prasad was sharing the stage with BJP leader Pramod Mahajan and Rameshwar Prasad Chaurasia, the BJP nominee for the assembly election.

After receiving first aid from a local doctor, Prasad was rushed to Patna by helicopter for treatment. Doctors said X-ray reports revealed multiple fractures in Prasad’s arm but he was out of danger.

Real target
Eyewitnesses said the real target was Chaurasia, who was elected to the dissolved 13th Bihar assembly for what would have been his second successive term. He is one of the petitioners who have challenged the dissolution of the assembly.