PM Security Lapse | MHA Issues Show-Cause Notice To Bathinda SSP, Says Police At Protest Site Found To Be Inactive
The MHA probe team also visited the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala in Ferozepur which the Prime Minister was scheduled to visit but the programme was cancelled.
New Delhi: Two days after the security lapse during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a show-cause notice to the SSP of Bathinda, saying that the police at the protest site was found to be inactive, news agency IANS reported.
Besides this, the three-member committee, constituted by the MHA to probe lapses in PM Modi’s security during his visit to the state, on Friday summoned Punjab Director General of Police Siddharth Chattopadhyaya and nearly a dozen top state police officials, news agency ANI reported sources as saying.
On the first day of its Punjab visit, the three-member committee led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat and comprising Balbir Singh, Joint Director, IB, and S. Suresh, IG, SPG sought responses for many unanswered questions with Punjab Police officers.
MHA Committee Begins Questioning
In its day one inquiry into the security lapses during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab, the MHA team visited the spot where PM Modi’s convoy was stuck for nearly 20 minutes and the place where he was going to attend an event, ANI reported.
Following this, the committee started detailed questioning with police officers which included Ferozepur’s Director General of Police and Senior Superintendent of Police who are reported to have had the responsibility for the clearance of PM Modi’s route.
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Besides them, Punjab’s Additional Director General and Patiala Inspector General were also among the dozen top officers of Punjab Police whom the MHA committee summoned, ANI reported.
As per the agency’s sources, the Punjab Police officers were asked about their roles and responsibilities in order to determine the faults that resulted in the Prime Minister’s security breach.
It was further mentioned that the Centre is considering action under the Special Protection Group (SPG) Act against Punjab Police officers. Section 14 of the SPG Act makes the state government responsible for providing all assistance to the SPG during the PM’s movement. The provision, titled ‘Assistance to Group’, states: “It shall be the duty of every Ministry and Department of the Central Government or the State Government or the Union Territory Administration, every Indian Mission, every local or other authority or every civil or military authority to act in aid of the Director or any member of the Group whenever called upon to do so in furtherance of the duties and responsibilities assigned to such Director or member.”
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MHA Committee’s Visit To Ferozepur
The MHA committee is reported to have reached Ferozepur late on Thursday night and started its probe with a visit to the flyover where the Prime Minister’s convoy was stuck for over 15-20 minutes due to a road blockade by protesters during his visit.
The team reached the flyover around 10 am and enquired about the lapses in PM’s security with some senior Punjab Police officers visiting the spot with them, ANI reported citing sources.
It was informed that the team walked almost one km at the flyover and checked things in a detailed way. They also showed Punjab Police officers some particular pictures and videos available on social media pertaining to the PM's convoy stuck on the flyover and asked questions related to it.
The MHA committee spent nearly one hour at the flyover and then left for Border Security Force’s office in Ferozepur where there was some communication among senior BSF officers and the team members over the issue.
The probe team also visited the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala in Ferozepur which the Prime Minister was scheduled to visit but the programme was cancelled.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ferozepur was called off on Wednesday citing a major security lapse. The PM was stuck on a flyover for 15-20 minutes due to the road being blocked by some protesters, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had stated.
The ministry had further mentioned that “In view of the contingency plan, the Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda Airport.”
(With Agency Inputs)
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