Raman Singh

Raipur, Sept. 8: It’s not the Maoists, a cow made a vain attempt to attack Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh at an official function in Rajnandgaon.

Singh, who figures top in the hit list of the rebels, had a narrow escape as his security men swung as a shield and pushed the chief minister away. An inspector was injured in the attempt.

The chief minister last evening went to Rajnandgaon, about 75km from here, to inaugurate the newly built nine cowsheds in Pinjarapala Goushala, located in the heart of the town. After performing the puja of Goumata (cow), Singh offered sweet to a cow that besides tasting the sweet, also tried to trample him. As the cow tried to hit Singh, the security personnel in the inner circle of the chief minister jumped forward to act as a shield. Singh was pulled back before the cow could succeed.

The inspector in charge of the chief minister’s security, Arshad Khan, was packed down by the cow and he sustained minor injuries. However, the officer was immediately rushed to district hospital from where he was referred to Bhilai Sector-IX hospital, as the doctors feared he had sustained internal injuries. “The officer sustained minor injuries and his condition is out of danger,” Rajnandgaon superintendent of police V.K. Choubey told The Telegraph.

The police, however, heaved a sigh of relief that no major untoward incident took place. But the incident certainly forced the officers in the chief minister’s security to look for another layer of security— to shield from animal like a cow. A part of the district being the worst Maoist-hit, the police had made adequate security arrangement for the programme of Singh. But a security breach by a cow was totally out of the blue.