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Spiritual Guru and Art of Living Foundation founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar escaped an attempt on his life on Sunday evening when an unidentified man fired at him inside his sprawling ashram on the outskirts of Bangalore.

The gunman, who was part of the crowd listening to the discourse, fired from a distance and fled immediately after pulling the trigger.

A follower of the guru was wounded when the bullet hit his thigh. The incident took place around 6.15 pm but was not reported to the police immediately. After receiving information, the police rushed to the spot.

The police said Ravi Shankar was leaving in his car after delivering a discourse to around 2,500 people when the gunman fired at his convoy. The follower — Vinay — was in the backseat.

The bullet pierced through the car door and hit his thigh, the police said. The police have recovered the shell of a .22 pistol from the site of the attack.

Ravi Shankar was whisked away to a secret location soon after the attack. He was brought back to the ashram only around 11 pm.

“ We usually have a satsang ( discourse) from 4 pm every Sunday till around 6 pm. Even people from the neighbouring villages join us. Sri Sri had addressed those gathered at the satsang and completed his discourse and was returning to his kutir ( home) by car when the incident took place,” ashram spokesperson Charu said.

The reason for the attack was yet to be established. Ravi Shankar’s personal assistant Giri Govind said he suspected “ terrorist activity”. “ This is for the first time Ravi Shankar has been attacked. We suspect that it could be an act of terrorism to instill fear among his followers. Let the police investigate. Ravi Shankar is safe and healthy,” he said.

As the guru had received threats from unknown people, he was provided with police security. They were accompanying him at the time of the attack.

The police have detained several of his followers for questioning.

“ The bullet was fired from a particular section of the crowd.

We have taken some of them for questioning. We are yet to commence the preliminary investigations,” they added.

Ashram sources pointed out that strict security measures were not followed to ensure the guru’s safety. The gunman could have taken advantage of this security lapse.

“ Though there are metal detectors at the entry gates of the ashram, it is easy for anybody to smuggle small arms considering the sprawling property spread across several acres.

We have to ascertain all these aspects,” the police said.

Ravi Shankar started the Art of Living Foundation in 1981, which is now present in 140 countries.

However, he shot into prominence in the late 1990s after popularising a special and powerful breathing technique called Sudarshana Kriya . He operates from his huge ashram located on Kanakapura Road, 18 km from Bangalore.