The Supreme Court on Thursday, 25 August, said that a committee, appointed by the apex court to look into the alleged lapses in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security during his visit to Punjab in January 2022, found that a Punjab police official had "failed" to discharge his duties.
The bench indicted the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Ferozepur, Hardeep Bhans, saying that he had "failed to discharge (his) duty and augment the route though sufficient time and forces were available."
"The Ferozepur SSP failed to discharge his duty to maintain law and order. He failed to do this even though sufficient force was available and even though he was informed two hours before that the PM will enter that route," the court said, as per news agency PTI.
The court also said that the committee's report would be sent to both the Centre and the Punjab government.
The Incident
PM Modi was scheduled to visit Ferozepur on 5 January this year to lay the foundation stone for projects worth thousands of crores ahead of the Assembly elections in Punjab.
While it was initially planned that the prime minister would travel via helicopter, poor weather and visibility compelled him to go by road.
Around 30 km before his destination, the PM's convoy was stuck on a flyover, which had been blocked by several protesters. As a result, the convoy was immobilised for 15-20 minutes.
Hence, he returned to the Bathinda airport without attending his scheduled appointment.
The incident had led to a massive outcry from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which accused the then Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government in Punjab of negligence.
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