PM Modi security breach in Punjab: Supreme Court stays probes; Centre alleges ‘cops were having tea with protesters’

The Centre raised alarm over the lapse in security of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's in Punjab’s Bathinda earlier this week as the Supreme Court was hearing the case on Friday. The top court, however, has stayed both probes launched by the Punjab government and the Centre in the matter until the next hearing on January 10.

During the hearing, the Centre alleged that the incident could possibly be a case of cross-border terrorism and cannot be tolerated. “Very nearly saw an incident which could have caused serious international embarrassment,” the government said.

The Centre’s arguments came against the backdrop of a major security breach. Earlier on Wednesday, the PM’s convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Punjab’s Ferozepur. He returned from the poll-bound state without attending any event, including a rally.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Prime Minister's schedule and travel plan were communicated well in advance to the Punjab government and it was supposed to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready. As per the contingency plan, the state government should have deployed additional security to secure any movement by road, which was clearly not deployed, the ministry said.

As BJP leaders slammed the Congress government in the state over the incident, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has denied any security lapse or political motive behind it and said his government is ready for an inquiry.

The Punjab government on Thursday constituted a two-member high-level committee to conduct a "thorough probe" into lapses during Modi's visit to Ferozepur, an official spokesperson said.

The Centre informed the Supreme Court that only when the Director-General of Police gave a green signal did the PM's cavalcade begin. However, the pilot car of the PM's cavalcade was not warned or informed by the police about the protesters.

“The local police were busy having tea with the protesters,” the Centre alleged in the apex court.

The Centre has demanded that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) should be charged with collecting records, documents to verify developments. It also argued that Punjab could not have constituted a committee to probe the issue after the Supreme Court took charge of the matter, and called it a case of overreach. Meanwhile, the Punjab Committee head is also facing investigations.

The Supreme Court has directed that relevant documents be deposited with the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court. “We direct for Punjab Police and SPG to cooperate for collection, depositing of records with Registrar General,” it added.