Rahul sips tea at a roadstall in dead of night

BOLANGIR : Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who has often slipped out of his security cordon to mingle with people, once again ignored the drill and took a walk for more than a kilometre through the dimly-lit streets in this sleepy western Orissa town around 10.30 on Tuesday night.

Many people could believe their eyes when they saw a Rahul Gandhi look-alike sipping tea at a stall by the government bus stand here. When they saw the security paraphernalia , they knew it was none other than Rahul. As the word spread, virtually everybody in the town rushed to the spot for a closer look at the Gandhi scion. In minutes, more than a thousand people had gathered. But an unruffled Rahul kept sipping tea and talking to people.

It was after a day-long trip to Orissa���during which Rahul campaigned in Rourkela, Rairakhole and Sonepur���that he stopped at Bolangir and went straight to the PWD guest house. At 10.15 pm, he said he wanted to take a walk. There were just three SPG men and a few cops around Rahul. By the time he returned to the guest house, locals were walking along with him.

Some even drove past him on their two-wheelers , but the securitymen didn���t object. Bolangir SP Sanjeev Arora said Rahul wanted to take a walk. ���He was here for the night and not under house arrest ,������ Arora said.