The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s Registrar General to “keep all records in his safe custody” and the Punjab Police, the Special Protection Group (SPG) and other the Central and State agencies to “cooperate and provide necessary assistance” to him in connection with a petition seeking a thorough probe into the security breach during PM Modi’s visit to on Wednesday when his cavalcade was stuck on a flyover for nearly 20 minutes due to farmers blocking the road.
The director-general of police (DGP) of Chandigarh and an official of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will also act as nodal officers to coordinate with the registrar-general, the top court said.
The top court was hearing a petition filed by the NGO Lawyers Voice, which sought action against those responsible for the security lapse and appropriate directions to the Punjab government to prevent the recurrence of such an incident in the future.
Supporting the petition calling for a probe by the National Investigation Agency(NIA), the Centre called PM’s security lapse a “rarest of the rare” case that had the potential of causing international embarrassment. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was representing the Centre, said the records must be secured first and then the top court can decide the future course of action on Monday.
On the other hand, Senior advocate D S Patwalia, Advocate General of Punjab, requested the Bench to pass an order to put on hold the proceedings of the Central panel as it has issued notices to the Punjab DGP and state officials.
A bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana, and which also included Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli, ordered the preservation of the travel record and a stay on separate investigations ordered by the Punjab government and the Centre till Monday.
Punjab govt endangers PM Modi’s security, allows protestors to block his convoy
In a major lapse and seemingly deliberate act to endanger the Prime Minister’s security, the Punjab government has today allowed political protestors to block the Prime Minister’s convoy. As per reports, the PM’s convoy was blocked for over 20 minutes by protestors at a flyover about 30 km away from Hussainiwala.
In a statement, the Home Ministry said that the PM was scheduled to visit the National Martyr’s Memorial in Punjab’s Hussainiwala by helicopter. However due to adverse weather conditions, the helicopter ride was cancelled and the PM chose to go by road, which would take more than 2 hours.
As per protocol, necessary confirmations were done with Punjab DGP and the PM’s convoy started after confirmation for security arrangements was provided by Punjab Police. However, at a flyover about 30 km away from Hussainiwala, the road was found to be blocked by some protestors.
The Prime Minister’s vehicle was struck in the flyover for 15-20 minutes, as per the statement. Calling this a major lapse in the security of the PM, the Home Ministry stated that the PM’s travel plan was communicated well in advance to the state government. The state government is required to make necessary arrangements for security, logistics and also make a contingency plan ready in case of unexpected issues.
