Bihar: 22 rifles fail to boom during gun salute to former CM Jagannath

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pays floral tribute to former Bihar chief minister and JD(U) leader Jagannath Mishra at Assembly campus, in Patna. Pic/PTI

In an embarrassing moment for the Bihar Police, 22 rifles carried by personnel failed to fire a single shot here on Wednesday, while the former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra's mortal remains were being cremated with full state honour.

The three-time former chief minister's cremation reported took place at his ancestral village in Supaul district and it was attended by state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, state Health Minister Mangal Pandey, among other dignitaries.

Also Read: Nitish Kumar visits Madhubani to inspect recently-discovered 'meteorite'

During the cremation, villagers got visibly embarrassed as policemen failed in their attempt to give gun salute to Mishra in front of the Chief Minister and other dignitaries. Cops were seen desperately testing if their weapons had life by pulling the trigger but all went in vain, reported ANI.

Nitish was seen reaching the cremation site by helicopter, responding to which Pipra RJD MLA Yaduwansh Kumar Yadav, who was also present at the funeral, said that the incident was the insult to the former Bihar chief minister and demanded an investigation into the matter.

The 82-year-old Mishra passed away on August 19 following a prolonged illness. He started his career as a professor and went on to become Chief Minister of Bihar thrice from Congress party.

With inputs from PTI

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates