The Hubballi Police are not pursuing the security breach incident, reasoning that the boy was a minor. No case has been registered.
Published Jan 12, 2023 | 10:18 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 12, 2023 | 10:19 PM
Prime Miniter Narendra Modi in Hubballi, Karnataka, on Thursday, 12 January, 2023. (Supplied)
In an unexpected turn of events, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security detail was breached during his roadshow in Karnataka’s Hubballi on Thursday, 12 December.
Modi was in Hubballi to inaugurate the 26th National Youth Festival at the Railway Sports Ground.
He landed at the Hubballi airport at around 3.30 pm. He was given a rousing welcome by the people of the Hubballi-Dharwad twin cities.
Thousands of people gathered on both sides of the road from the airport to the ground to greet the prime minister.
The police tightened security across the city by putting barricades along the road to prevent the public from entering the path of the prime minister’s convoy.
A screen grab from the video of a 12-year-old boy breaching the police security rushed to garland Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a roadshow at Hubballi on Thursday. (Screenshot)
The prime minister’s security was breached when Modi was waving at the gathered people near the quarters of the North Western Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) at Gokul Road.
A minor, who was identified as a resident of one of the localities in Hubballi City, breached the tight police security.
Wearing a saffron-coloured t-shirt, he rushed to garland Modi.
Television cameras captured the security breach, exposing how close the young boy got to the prime minister.
Modi extended his hand to accept the garland from the boy, but could not reach out to him. He caught hold of the garland and placed it in his car.
The Special Protection Group (SPG), which is entrusted with the task of providing proximate security to the prime minister, and the on-duty Karnataka State Police were quick to react and pulled the boy back from the moving convoy.
The police then moved the teenager behind the barricade.
Stating that it was a minor incident, Hubballi Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ballappa Nandaganvi told South First: “There was a breach in the prime minister’s security. The teenager is a minor and a fan of the prime minister. We are not pursuing the case.”
He added: “We have neither called his parents to the police station nor are we in search of the teenager. No case has been filed on this incident.”
The ACP concluded: “Apart from this, no major incident was reported during the roadshow of the prime minister in Hubballi.”
