Shoe thrown at SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya during party event

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

shoe was thrown at senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya during a party event here on Monday. The shoe did not reach up to Maurya.

Party workers overpowered the alleged assailant and thrashed him. «The accused has been taken to a hospital and further details will be known after questioning him,» Assistant Commissioner of Police (Lucknow) Aniandy Vikram Singh said.

The alleged assailant, Akash Saini, was dressed as a lawyer, the officer said. He was taken into custody by the Vibhuti Khand police.

The incident took place at the SP's one-day 'mahasammelan' at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan. Party president Akhilesh Yadav was scheduled to address the event.

He had not reached the venue at the time of the incident. Maurya, a prominent OBC leader in Uttar Pradesh who had defected to the SP from the BJP just before the 2022 assembly elections, has been in the thick of a controversy over his remarks on the Ramcharitmanas and Hindu temples.