Panic broke out briefly at Rahul Gandhi’s road show in Jabalpur on Saturday when helium-filled balloons burst into flames near the Congress president’s open-top vehicle, police said.
Nobody was injured in the incident, which happened while Rahul was campaigning in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, they added.
A bunch of gas balloons held by a political worker had caught fire from an oil lamp that another was holding up on a plate for an aarti in honour of the Congress chief.
A video of the incident shows Rahul standing in the open-top vehicle accompanied by security personnel, greeting crowds lining both sides of the road, when he is startled by the sight of a huge flame going up.
Jabalpur superintendent of police Amit Singh on Sunday ruled out any security lapse, saying the incident occurred about 15 feet beyond the police security ring.
“It would have been a lapse if the incident had occurred inside the security ring, but it occurred around 15 feet away. Nobody was injured,” Singh said.
He said the person waiting to welcome Rahul with the lamp had been identified as Kaudi Lal Rai, a Congress block president who has been associated with the party for 30 years.
“Some Congress workers were standing near him with balloons in their hands. The balloons came into contact with the lamp and a huge flame went up,” the officer said.
Asked how helium balloons were allowed at an event involving Rahul, an SPG protectee, Singh said the “blue book” (security guidelines) didn’t mention that such balloons or aarti plates were not allowed.
“One can obviously be startled if a balloon bursts near one even at a birthday party,” he said.
Rahul had kicked off the 8km road show from Abdul Hamid Chowk. The route covered three Assembly constituencies — Jabalpur West, Jabalpur North Central and Jabalpur East (SC).