The Mumbai Police arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly "breaching the security" of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. According to the police, the accused was seen roaming around Amit Shah and other politicians for hours at Sagar bungalow - the residence of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s official residence at Malabar Hill.
The man, identified as Hemant Pawar, was impersonating the personal assistant (PA) of an MP from Andhra Pradesh. "Pawar was wearing a ribbon of the ministry of home affairs (MHA) so no one raised any doubts," a police officer was quoted by the Times of India as saying.
He was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 170 (whoever pretends to hold any particular office as a public servant, knowing that he does not hold such office or falsely personifies any other person holding such office). He was also produced before the Girgaon court, which remanded him to five-day police custody, News 18 reported.
This is not the first time that the security of a prominent leader was breached. Here's a look at five incidents when Indian prime ministers faced security lapses:
1.
On January 5 this year,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security was breached in Punjab. The prime minister's convoy was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes due to a blockade by protestors in Ferozepur. Following this, he had returned from Punjab without attending any event.
2. A security breach was also reported in 2019 during PM Modi’s rally at West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district. The breach reportedly led to a stampede-like situation, forcing the Prime Minister to cut short his speech.
3. In 2018, a man broke through the elite Special Protection Group’s security cordon and went up on stage while PM Modi, PM of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee were present. This happened post the convocation ceremony at Visva Bharati. Donning kurta and trousers, the man touched PM Modi's feet, sought his blessings and handed him a portrait of Rabindranath Tagore.
4. In 2006, then Prime Minister,
Manmohan Singh’s convoy came to a halt after the pilot leading his convoy took the wrong route on the way to Raj Bhavan in Kerala. According to reports, the person driving the pilot vehicle was not a policeman, but a tourist taxi driver. he had made similar errors in trials
5. Security lapses had led to the assassination of 1former Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. A woman had approached him at a rally in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur. Moments later, the woman triggered a bomb she was carrying, killing Rajiv, herself, and 14 others.
(Edited by : Akriti Anand)
First Published: Sept 8, 2022 4:50 PM IST
