Chandigarh/Ferozepur: A Central team probing the ‘serious lapses’ in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security during his Ferozepur tour visited the town Friday. They held interaction with senior officials. On the other hand the Punjab government submitted a report to Centre on the issue. It said an FIR has been registered in the matter.
The three-member committee was constituted by the Union Home Ministry Thursday. It sought full details about the sequence of events that unfolded during Modi’s January 5 visit, sources informed.
The Punjab government has maintained there was no security lapse during Modi’s visit. It had announced Thursday a two-member panel to investigate the matter. The panel had been asked to submit its report in three days.
The Punjab Police has also registered an FIR in Ferozepur against nearly 150 unidentified protesters who blocked Modi’s cavalcade Wednesday.
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The prime minister’s convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur. After that he returned from the poll-bound state without attending any event, including a rally.
Amid foggy weather conditions, the three-member central team visited the Pyarayana flyover near Ferozepur Friday morning. They interacted with senior Punjab Police and civil administration officials.
The panel is led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat, and has Balbir Singh, Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau and S Suresh, IG, Special Protection Group as two other members.
The Centre has advised the committee to submit its report at the earliest.
It is learnt that a showcause notice has been issued by the MHA to a couple of senior officials from Bathinda and Ferozepur over the ‘grave security lapse’ during the prime minister’s visit.
The team spent around 45 minutes at the flyover before heading to the BSF sector headquarters for further questioning and investigation into the matter.
At the BSF sector headquarters in Ferozepur, which is around 10km from where the incident took place on National Highway 5, the Central team remained closeted with the senior civil and police officers who were directly responsible to ensure the smooth passage of the prime minister’s convoy and its foolproof security.
According to the sources, the Central team summoned several senior police and civil officials, including those who were deployed for the prime minister’s security during his visit to Ferozepur, to appear in person before them Friday and most were present.
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Meanwhile, Punjab’s Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari wrote to the Union Home Ministry regarding the security breach, informing that an FIR has been lodged in the incident. He mentioned that the Punjab government has formed its own two-member panel to investigate the alleged lapses.
Tewari is learnt to have shared details pertaining to the sequence of events that unfolded Wednesday, official sources in the Punjab government said.
The Union Home Ministry had directed the state government to file an immediate report, saying it did not ensure the required deployment, while Home Minister Amit Shah had said that such dereliction of the security procedure during the prime minister’s visit was totally unacceptable and accountability would be fixed.
