KOLKATA, Jan 31: Suave and articulate, Imran Khan is never at a loss for words. He never has been, even as captain of the Pakistani team after losing a crucial match. On Monday, however, the Oxford-educated cricketer-turned-politician was stumped mid-sentence.

“Fundamentalists in every country should be treated intellectually…. Never fight with guns. Terror...” the sentence never got completed. For, the auditorium had plunged into darkness.

For 60 tense seconds, the huge auditorium at Kolkata Book Fair remained in pitch darkness, giving security staff goose pimples as the Pakistani politician stood helplessly on the dais, vulnerable and exposed to attack from an unruly crowd.

Though the book fair organisers later claimed they had switched off the lights to enable Imran to make a safe exit, security officers described it as a major security breach at the high-profile event.

“What if someone was intent on mischief and had evil designs? It was the perfect opportunity to target Imran…. Even otherwise, with fans and media persons eager to get close to him, he could have been injured,” a security officer said.

Unfazed by the incident, Publishers and Booksellers Guild (PBG) general secretary Tridib Chatterjee said he had ordered the power to the main auditorium to be switched off at 5.58pm so that Imran could be escorted out under the cover of darkness. That, though, didn’t happen. Imran stood frozen on the stage, confronted by an advancing crowd of fans. Even emergency lights weren’t on. It was only when videographers switched on their camera lights that security men jumped to Imran’s side. He was escorted out once the lights returned after a minute.

Mr Chatterjee denied there was a security breach. “This was planned so that we could disperse the mob and take him (Imran Khan) out. Also, those scheduled to use the hall next were waiting for nearly 45 minutes beyond the appointed hour. We had to conclude Imran’s programme and switching off the power was the best way to end it,” he said.

His claims were, however, contradicted by PBG seminar convener Sribendu Bhattacharjee.—Dawn/Times of India News Service