Under dock over delay in acting against the erring officers in the PM security breach incident, Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua on Tuesday said that the State Government will take action against the erring officers, but first, “an opportunity for hearing” will be given to them.
 
However, he maintained that till that time, the Government will send an “interim report” to the Centre in a day or two informing about the same.
 
“A petition was filed before Supreme Court. SC formed a panel which conducted an inquiry. They sent us the report. They examined roles of all officers, as to what was the lapse on whose part,” said Janjua.
 
He added, “They've given all details. We've the report now, it's under consideration. Action is being taken but an opportunity for hearing is given to all officers before action is taken. We'll send an interim report in a day or two that we are taking these actions.”
 
It has been learnt that no less than nine senior officers, including the then Chief Secretary Anirudh Tiwari and the then Director-General of Police (DGP) S Chattopadhyaya, are set to face action in connection with the security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on January 5, 2022.
 
Besides, the action is expected to be initiated against Senior Superintendent of Police Harmandeep Singh Hans and Charanjit Singh; Additional DGPs Nageswara Rao and Naresh Arora; Inspector Generals Rakesh Aggarwal and Inderbir Singh; and the then deputy IG Surjeet Singh (now retired).
 
Notably, 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 for about 20 minutes, in a major security lapse.