The spiritual leader was undeterred by the incident that happened at 6.30pm when he emerged from a public satsang at the Vishalakshi Mantap on Sunday.
Bangalore-based spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had a miraculous escape when an assassination attempt on him by an unidentified gunman ended in a devotee sustaining a bullet wound on Sunday evening at the Art of Living (AoL) ashram in Kanakapura.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar escaped unhurt. The attack happened at 6.30pm when he emerged from a public satsang at the Vishalakshi Mantap on Sunday.
Sri Sri’s personal secretary Giri Govind said a sharp cracker-like noise was heard and a devotee named Vinay standing close to the spiritual guru suddenly clutched his bleeding thigh.
A .202 bullet was found at the scene later, suggesting only a single shot was fired.“There are so many militants who have reformed and turned to the path of peace. May be this has angered some who oppose that,” Sri Sri Ravi Shankar told a TV channel after the attack.
However, no one was able to identify who had fired as there were about 5,000 people around him at the Vishalakshi Mantap.
Eye-witnesses said the shot was fired when the spiritual leader was getting into his car after the satsang to leave for the Yagnashala, about 250 metres from the Vishalakshi Mantap.
The injured devotee was taken to a nearby hospital, treated and discharged. He was back in the ashram, said Giri Govind.
The police are yet to verify where the single shot was fired from, though they have established that it was a pistol, considering the bullet was a .202 calibre. AoL media co-ordinator Shyam Sunder told DNA that the attacker could have been any one of the visitors who have come from all over the country to attend the month-long Ashtavakra Gita programme, which began ten days ago. “There are a lot of unknown people who come in large numbers,” said Shyam Sunder.
There were no policemen present when the attack happened. However, the police personnel undertook intense screening operations after the attack and frisked and questioned the visitors. Home minister VS Acharya said inspector general (central range) Kamal Panth had been ordered to rush to the ashram.
“I will get a complete picture from Kamal Panth. I can give details only after I get full details from him.” Sri Sri Ravi Shankar went about his routine even after the attack and attended two public events after it.
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