Bid on Sri Sri Ravishankar not a targeted attack

BANGALORE - A day after attempted attack on Art of Living (AoL) founder Sri Sri Ravishankar, Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP) Ajai Kumar Singh on Monday said it was not a ‘targeted attack’.

Singh said the attacker-opened fire about five minutes after Sri Sri Ravishankar left the place in his car.

“The scenario emerging is that it is about five minutes after Guruji left the place, the devotee Vinay Kumar, who was injured in the incident heard the sound,” he said.

Singh termed the event as an ‘incident’ and said the word attack’ cannot be used at this point.

“No, word ‘attack’ I will certainly not use, ‘incident’, yes, but whether it was meant for a particular person, we can not say at this juncture,” he added.

Earlier today, Sri Sri Ravishankar said that there is a threat to his life.

An unidentified gunman shot at his car as he was returning after delivering a discourse.

However, Sri Sri Ravishankar said he did not want security that would be an obstacle between him and his devotees.

Addressing media at his Bangalore ashram, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said he has forgiven the attacker and invited him to the ashram.

“If I spend some time with him, he will be a changed man,” Sri Sri Ravishankar said.

“I have no enemies and I have never used any kind of abuse in my entire life,” he added.

He also said his message was that of peace and only non-violence can overcome such an incident.

“We must ensure the safety of the devotees and we must not be afraid of such attackers,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Police has resumed the investigations and is scanning the spot for clues.

The Karnataka Government has beefed up security in and around the Art of Living ashram.

An unidentified gunman shot at Sri Sri Ravishankar’s car as he was returning to his ashram after delivering a discourse on Sunday evening. (ANI)