On Sunday, a month after the security breakdown involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi happened on January 5 in Punjab, the Supreme Court-appointed five-member committee arrived at the incident site in Ferozepur for the first time to investigate the issue.
On January 12, the Supreme Court formed a five-member committee to investigate the security breach, led by retired top court judge Justice Indu Malhotra. Justice Indu Malhotra examined the overpass on which the Prime Minister was delayed for about 15 to 20 minutes on his route to the Ferozepur public engagement. She also travelled to the location where the demonstration was to take place.
The DGP of Chandigarh, the IG of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the ADGP Security of Punjab, and the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court accompanied Justice Malhotra. Notably, the full record of the PM’s visit has already been delivered to the committee.
Following the Prime Minister’s security failure last month, the Centre and the Punjab government launched separate inquiries. Punjab appointed retired Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Home Secretary Anurag Verma to a committee. In addition, the Centre established an inquiry committee chaired by the Security Secretary and comprised of Intelligence Bureau and SPG officials. The probe had already begun, thanks to the efforts of the Central Committee. The case was then heard by the Supreme Court. Both committees were disbanded by the Supreme Court, and a combined inquiry committee was constituted under the supervision of retired Justice Indu Malhotra, who came today to conduct a probe.
The committee’s other members are the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or his nominee not lower than the rank of Inspector General of Police, the Director General of Police (DGP) Union Territory of Chandigarh, the Additional DGP of Punjab (Security), and the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Supreme Court directed the committee to produce its report as soon as possible.
Last week, the Prime Minister was trapped atop a flyover for 15-20 minutes on his trip to Ferozepur in Punjab because the road was blocked by demonstrators. His security was described as a “serious breach” by the Ministry of Home Affairs.