Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has decided to launch disciplinary procedures against numerous police personnel, including the state’s top policeman, in connection with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security breach in Punjab in January 2022.
According to an official letter from the Government of Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings for the major penalty against Sidharth Chattopadhyay, the then DGP Punjab, Inderbir Singh, the then DIG, Ferozepur Range, and Harmandeep Singh Hans, the then SSP Ferozepur, for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security breach in Punjab in January 2022.
On March 14, Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua stated that the state government will soon submit a “interim” report to the Ministry of Home Affairs about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security breakdown during his visit in January 2022.
This happened after the Central Government requested a comprehensive action-taken report on PM Modi’s security lapse from the Punjab administration. According to sources, a letter was written to the Punjab government via the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) requesting a comprehensive action taken report on the erring employees.
According to the Chief Secretary, the state administration has received and is considering the findings of the enquiry conducted by the Supreme Court-appointed commission into the event.
A report of the Supreme Court-appointed inquiry committee looking into the breach in security during PM Modi’s Punjab visit on January 5, 2022, which was submitted six months ago, indicated then-state Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari, Police Chief S Chattopadhyaya, and other top officers for lapses.
Soon after the security breach, the MHA constituted a three-member committee that summoned the Director General of Punjab Police, Siddharth Chattopadhyaya, Punjab ADGP, Patiala IGP, and Ferozpur DIG along with over a dozen top Punjab Police officers. They were responsible for the Prime Minister’s security during his visit to Punjab’s Ferozpur on January 5.
The MHA then constituted a three-member committee led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat; Balbir Singh, Joint Director (IB); and S Suresh, IG, Special Protection Group.
After the breach in Prime Minister Modi’s security during his visit to Punjab on January 5, the Government was considering taking action against Punjab Police officials under the Special Protection Group (SPG) Act.
Section 14 of the SPG Act mandates that the state government provide all support to the SPG during the PM’s travels.
The three-member MHA team began their investigation with a visit to the flypast, where the Prime Minister’s convoy was stopped for more than 15-20 minutes owing to a road obstruction by protestors during his visit.
The MHA formed a three-member committee to investigate major failures in security measures during the PM’s visit to Punjab’s Ferozepur, which exposed the VVIP to considerable security danger.
