Sri Sri Ravishankar was not a target of the gunman, says DGP, Bangalore

BANGALORE - Director General of Police (DGP) Ajai Kumar Singh here on Saturday said that the gunman, who fired bullets at the convoy of spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar, was not aiming for him.

According to DGP Singh, the bullet had been fired from a licensed .32 factory-made revolver and by the time it reached Vinay, the disciple of Ravishankar who was injured in the firing, it had lost its injuring velocity.

The bullet was fired from a factory-made weapon from a weapon belonging to Sri Mahadev Prasad, a poultry farm owner who resides at the neighbourhood of Art of Living center, he informed.

Further investigation into the matter showed us that the bullet, which hit Sri Vinay was a .32 caliber bullet and by the time it hit Sri Vinay it had lost the injuring speed. Those things were rather clear in the minds of the experts. The bullet was fired from a factory-made weapon and not a country-made weapon,” said Singh.

He added that ballistic experts, who examined the bullet, verified that it was fired from the revolver of Mahadev Prasad, a poultry farm owner, with an aim to scare away dogs.

The Karnataka Police had interrogated Prasad, who owns a poultry farm, next to the Art of Living (AoL) Ashram.

“The further investigation by our experts and the gradient of the timing of the firing… all that and it was conclusively proved that the bullet was fired from weapon belonging to Sri Mahadev Prasad. About this there are no doubts. There is scientific proof of that. The distance also proves that the bullet, which was fired, reached the ashram and hit Sri Vinay in such a manner that by that time it had lost its injury velocity,” said Singh.

Prasad had opened fire on Ravishankar’s convoy on Sunday (May 30) while he was leaving his ashram after giving a discourse.

The Guru had escaped unscathed while a devotee sustained a mild injury. (ANI)