Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua has told ABP News that the state government would send an action-taken report to the Centre in 2-3 days over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security breach during his visit to the state on January 5 last year.
Janjua said action would be taken against all the eight police officers indicted in the probe report submitted by a panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge Indu Malhotra. He said the officers would be called and given a chance to present their case.
The development comes days after a letter was sent by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to the Punjab government seeking a detailed action taken report against the erring officers, ANI reported.
READ | PM Modi Security Breach: Govt Seeks Action Taken Report From Punjab
In the letter, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla highlighted the delay by the Punjab government in acting against the erring officers.
The report of the Supreme Court-appointed inquiry committee indicted then state chief secretary Anirudh Tewari, police chief S Chattopadhyaya, and other top officers for lapses.
The report was submitted to the Supreme Court and the Union government on August 25 last year. In September, the Centre forwarded it to the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government, which is yet to act on it.
On January 5, 2022, Prime Minister Modi’s cavalcade was on its way to Hussainiwala in Ferozepur from Bathinda airport when it ran into a blockade by protesters en route. The convoy was stranded on a flyover for 15-20 minutes — a major breach of security protocol.
A Congress government headed by Charanjit Singh Channi was in charge of the state at that time.
Soon after the security breach, the MHA formed a three-member committee and summoned more than a dozen senior Punjab Police personnel, including the DGP of Punjab Police, Siddharth Chattopadhyaya, the Punjab ADGP Punjab, IGP Patiala, and DIG for Ferozpur. They were in charge of the Prime Minister’s security during his visit to Ferozepur.
The Centre is considering action under the Special Protection Group (SPG) Act against the erring Punjab Police officers, ANI reported. Section 14 of the SPG Act makes the state government responsible for providing all assistance to the SPG during the PM’s movement.