Was German President the target?

An 'Afghan' man barged into the German embassy in New Delhi hours before German President Horst Kohler's first state visit to India. No official complaint registered, say police

An 'Afghan' man barged into the German embassy in New Delhi hours before German President Horst Kohler's first state visit to India. No official complaint registered, say police

An unidentified man barged into the German embassy Monday afternoon.

German President Horst Kohler arrived in India on Monday for a six-day state visit

Sources said the man, an Afghan national, was in a taxi and when intercepted by security officials could not spell out a clear reason for his presence around the embassy.

State visit
The incident assumed special significance as it happened just hours before German President Horst Kohler's first state visit of India.
President Kohler arrived in New Delhi later in the evening on a six-day visit.

Taken by surprise
Security agencies were in a tizzy and local police was informed about the breach immediately. As soon as the news flashed, senior police officials rushed to the spot and took the man into custody.
The police refused to part with any exhaustive details, however, confirmed that "a man" tried to break into the German embassy compound.

No formal complaint
Additional Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Shankar Dash said, "We have not received any formal complaint from the German embassy. We had received information that a man who is most likely an Afghan national had entered the embassy. As the incident occurred just ahead of the German President's visit to India, I immediately ordered senior officials to rush to the spot."

Reconnoissance
Though Dash did not confirm the nationality of the man, he said the man had "misplaced some visa papers" and reached the embassy to enquire about it. "He had come in a taxi. We haven't registered an FIR, so far."
Sources, however, said initially the police had received inputs that the man was caught while conducting a recee of the embassy.
This is President Kohler's first state visit to India. He is accompanied by his wife Eva Luise Kohler.

This is President Horst Kohler's first visit to India. His itinerary during the six-day visit is as follows:

Monday
Arrives in New Delhi

Tuesday
Meetings with his Indian counterpart Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, leader of the ruling coalition Sonia Gandhi and leader of the opposition in Parliament Sushma Swaraj.
Later in the day President Kohler has an interaction with industry
representatives, organised jointly by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

Wednesday
President Kohler will hold a discussion with Indian intellectuals at the Max Mueller Bhavan, followed by a visit to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. At IIT Delhi, President Horst Kohler will inaugurate the Indo-German Max Planck Center for Computer Science (IMPECS) along with Indian Minister of Science & Technology Prithviraj Chavan.

Thursday
President Kohler will visit India's automobile hub Pune. He will visit the new Volkswagen plant in Chakan and the Indian environment and energy company Thermax. In Pune, President Kohler will participate in a roundtable discussion on 'Globalisation and the Automobile industry'.
He will go to Mumbai and visit the Taj Mahal Hotel in remembrance of the victimsu00a0 of the 26/11 terror attack. The President will also pay a visit to the Synagogue in Fort area and have meetings with the Governor of Maharashtra and the Chiefu00a0 Minister Ashok Chavan.

Friday
President Kohler will meet Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvuri Subbarao to hold discussions on India's experience with the fallout of the global financial crisis. He will conclude his India tour with a site visit to a watershed management project implemented under Indo-German development cooperation at Darewadi, Maharashtra.

What it looks like?

Designed by Prof. Johannes Krahn, a student of the college of art in Cologne, the German embassy in New Delhi comprises strong classical indications towards the Bauhaus-School, the most distingiushed puristic shape-and-function-doctrine of the twentieth century. To the original complex, which was completed in 1961 two additional buildings were added in the late nineties. On an area of around 24,000 square metres a chancery, the residence of the ambassador, a general utility portico, appartments for local staff and a recreational area are surrounded by designed gardens. Several open-air grounds for social events add to the comprehensive Embassy concept.