Bihar Cops Left Red-faced as 22 Guns Fail to Fire Single Shot at Former CM's Funeral; Oppn Mocks Nitish Govt

Patna: While former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra's mortal remains were being cremated with full state honours on Wednesday, guns toted by 22 police personnel failed to fire a single shot.

Hours after the cremation took place at Balua Bazar, Mishra's ancestral village in Supaul district, local news channels began beaming video footage of the embarrassing spectacle.

A senior official could be seen hastily testing guns of a couple of police personnel, trying to test whether the weapons had any life left by pulling the trigger, only to resign himself to the anticlimax.

The episode, which took place in the presence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and many other dignitaries, has raised hackles at the police headquarters here. "This is a serious lapse. It was imperative to ensure that the guns were functional and the cartridges used therein were usable. We have sought an explanation from the district police of Supaul in this regard," a senior official said here on the condition of anonymity.

The occasion provided the opposition with fresh ammunition to train its guns at the ruling dispensation, which takes pride in its claim of having brought rule of law to a state after over a decade of alleged lawlessness.

When the guns of the police fail at a ceremonial function where the Chief Minister is in attendance, can these be expected to be of any use while chasing criminals. It is a testimony to the fact that Nitish Kumar has no control of law and order, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha said in a statement.

Mocking the Nitish Kumar government over gunshot fiasco at ex-CM’s funeral, Congress MLC Prem Chandra Mishra, on Twitter, said the Bihar police lacks the capability to fire gunshots during a guard of honour, would it not boost the morale of criminals. Not a single gunshot was fired when there should have been 21. What type of honour did you accord to the late Jagannath Mishra @Nitish Kumar.

RJD Rajya Sabha member and Lalu Prasads daughter Misa Bharti also sought to have some fun as she shared a news clipping of the fiasco that has left the government headed by her father’s arch-rival red-faced on her twitter handle without adding any comment.