New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed a five- member panel headed by former apex court judge Indu Malhotra to probe the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab earlier on January 5.
An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana also appointed the Inspector General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Chandigarh Director General of Police (DGP) Praveer Ranjan, the Punjab and Haryana High Court registrar-general and the Additional DGP (Security) of Punjab as members to the panel, PTI reported.
The apex court bench also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said it was expected that the panel would file its report shortly.
The apex court directed the Punjab and Haryana High Court registrar-general to provide all the seized documents pertaining to the security arrangements made by the Punjab government for the Prime Minister’s January 5 visit immediately to the panel head.
The apex court had earlier directed the Punjab government to ensure that all records and materials pertaining to the Prime Minister’s movements be immediately secured in the custody of the Punjab and Haryana High Court registrar-general.
The Prime Minister’s Punjab visit was cut short earlier on January 5 after a “major security lapse” as he was stranded on a flyover for 20 minutes due to a blockade by the protesters, prompting the Union Home Ministry to seek an immediate report from the state government.
The state government has also been asked to fix responsibility for this lapse and take strict action.