Narrow escape from electric shock for Rahul Gandhi in Agra

Agra: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, who is on his Kisan Mahayatra through Uttar Pradesh, had a narrow escape at Agra on Saturday when he came in contact with a live electricity wire.

The incident happened when he was garlanding the statue of Maharaja Agrasen in the Favvara area of the Taj city.

As Gandhi bowed to garland the statue, an electricity wire, apparently used to feed the shops in the market, touched his head, forcing him to move back immediately. An SPG functionary, standing next to him, held him, fearing that he might lose balance, a witness told IANS.

As State Congress chief Raj Babbar, who was accompanying Gandhi, asked him if he was okay, Gandhi responded in jest: "Aapne to mujhe current lagwa di (You got me electrocuted)".

This is the second security breach faced by Rahul Gandhi, who is protected by the elite Special Protection Group, during his ongoing 2,500 km Kisan Mahayatra which is to go through 223 assembly constituencies in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, last week a young man threw a shoe at him in Sitapur. The footwear missed Gandhi narrowly but sent jitters through the security agencies.