Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seems to have landed himself in a spot of bother after firing in the air at the officials residence as part of ‘Shastra Puja’ to mark Dussehra on Monday. Though a CMO spokesman described the firing as “routine” and “part of Shastra Puja”, the opposition Congress is alarmed at the “routine”.

“Firing in the air is not appropriate for someone holding a constitutional post,” MPCC chief Suresh Pachauri said. His party has condemned the brazen display of weapons by Chouhan and RSS activists at other places in the state, and wondered if the CM holds a license for the pistol he used.

While Chouhan tried his hand at pulling the trigger, a senior police officer was seen teaching his superior’s eight-year-old son how to fire from an AK-47 weapon during a ‘Shastra Puja’ at the Police Lines here. City Superintendent of Police Dilip Tomar, who reports to Bhopal SP Jaideep Prasad, was photographed with the latter’s son, their hands holding the trigger. Prasad said Tomar fired in the air while his son just held the gun. Prasad, who was present when the incident took place, said he found nothing wrong with what happened. Tomar, too, was unapologetic. “Which law have I violated,” he asked, insisting that he controlled gun and not the child. “Can an eight-year-old fire from an AK-47,” he asked, adding he was only satisfying the curiosity of a young boy. “Don’t NCC junior cadets use .303 and similar weapons. Don’t Army personnel let kids touch weapons in their exhibitions?” The difference, however, was that the AK-47 was loaded. “How can anyone accuse me of negligence when there was no casualty?” he asked, adding that he did not need to please his bosses as he was competent.

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