PTI 
 
AHMEDABAD, Apr 26: Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday became the latest target of a shoe attack during the current election campaign when a engineering student hurled a sneaker towards him but it fell short of the dais from where he was addressing his first poll rally in Gujarat at the Tagore hall ground.

The prime minister did not want the police to register any case against the shoe thrower identified as Hitesh Chauhan, a 21-year-old resident of Bapunagar pursuing a computer course in a local engineering college.

Singh spoke to Congress Legislature Party(CLP) leader Shaktisingh Govil and told him to communicate to the police not to press any charge against Chauhan who was quickly whisked away by the security personnel from the ground for questioning by the crime branch.

Chauhan was sitting on the front row and took out his shoes and was about to hurl it in the direction of the prime minister who had just started his speech when security personnel grabbed him.

The shoe fell a few feet away from where the prime minister was seated. The distance between the security railing and the stage where the prime minister was seated on the dais was about 30 feet.

The prime minister continued with this speech before proceeding to attend another rally.