Six months after the Supreme Court-constituted panel submitted its reports on the “security breach during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Ferozepur visit in January 2022”, the Union Home Ministry has sought a detailed action-taken report from the Punjab Government, highlighting the delay in acting against erring officers.
The Centre is considering action under the Special Protection Group (SPG) Act against Punjab Police officers over the incident. Section 14 of the SPG Act makes the State Government responsible for providing all assistance to the SPG during the PM's movement in the respective state.
As per the information available, the Union Home Ministry has sent a letter to the Punjab Government seeking a detailed action-taken report against the erring officers.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, in the letter, asked the state Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua to submit the report, highlighting the delay by the Punjab Government in acting against the officers concerned.
According to the sources, the letter, sent earlier this month, asked for the report as soon as possible.
A report by the Supreme Court-appointed inquiry committee probing the security breach, submitted six months ago, indicted the then state Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari, the state police chief S Chattopadhyaya, and other top officers for lapses.
The committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra, indicted Senior Superintendents of Police Harmandeep Singh Hans and Charanjit Singh, Anirudh Tewari, Chattopadhyaya, Additional Director Generals of Police G Nageswara Rao and Naresh Arora, Inspectors General Rakesh Aggarwal and Inderbir Singh and the then deputy inspector general Surjeet Singh (now retired). The report was submitted on August 25 last year. The Centre wrote to the state in September last year, but no action was taken.
Soon after the lapse, the Home Ministry constituted a three-member committee that summoned over a dozen top Punjab Police officers, who were responsible for the PM's security during his visit to Punjab's Ferozepur.
The team began the probe with a visit to the flyover where PM Modi's convoy was stuck for nearly 20 minutes as protesters blocked the road. The Home Ministry had then asked the Punjab Government to “fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action”.
Punjab Government, which was being led by the Congress at the time of the incident, had constituted a high-level committee to probe the incident.
On January 5, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Bathinda from where he was scheduled to go to the National Martyrs’ Memorial at Hussainiwala by chopper. But due to rain and poor visibility, it was decided that the PM would travel by road, which would take over two hours.
The route was planned after confirming the necessary security arrangements by the Punjab top cop. Around 30 km away from the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Hussainiwala, when his convoy was on a flyover, it was found that the road was blocked by protestors. The PM’s convoy remained stuck on the flyover, in a major security lapse.
The Home Ministry had then said that the PM's schedule and travel plans were communicated well in advance to the Punjab Government.
