Days after the Centre sought an action-taken report over the breach of security of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Punjab visit last year, Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Januja has said all indicted officers will be charge-sheeted.
Januja informed that the home secretary has already moved the file to the chief minister (Bhagwant Mann) for approval for issuing chargesheets against the nine erring IPS officers, including former DGP S Chattopadhyaya, Hindustan Times reported.
Last week, Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla wrote to the Punjab chief secretary seeking an action-taken report on the matter.
Januja said the state soon will submit the action taken report to the Centre. He also said that former chief secretary Anirudh Tewari has already been issued a show cause notice.
“I have moved a file to the chief minister regarding approval for a chargesheet against Tewari, and hopefully, the file will be cleared soon. The chief minister’s office (CMO) has raised a few queries, and I am replying to them. The file for issuing chargesheet against the erring IPS officers is also with the CM,” he said.
“The home department has sent the file to the chief minister, who also holds the portfolio of Home, narrating all the lapses of all concerned officers during the PM’s visit. Once we get clearance from the CM, the chargesheets will be issued,” Janjua said.
A committee appointed by the Supreme Court had also indicted then state chief secretary Anirudh Tewari and police chief S Chattopadhyaya for lapses.
PM’s Security Breach: What Happened on Jan 5, 2022?
Explaining the chronology, the Ministry of Home Affairs, in a statement, had said the prime minister landed at Bathinda airport on the morning of January 5 from where he was to go to the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala by helicopter.
However, due to rain and poor visibility, PM Modi “waited for about 20 minutes for the weather to clear out. When the weather did not improve, it was decided that he would visit the National Martyrs Memorial via road, which would take more than two hours”, it said.
The MHA added that the prime minister “proceeded to travel by road after necessary confirmation of necessary security arrangements” by the Punjab DGP.
But when the PM’s convoy reached a flyover, around 30 kilometres before the National Martyrs Memorial, the road was allegedly blocked by some protesters. “The Prime Minister was stuck on the flyover for 15-20 minutes. This was a major lapse in the security of the Prime Minister,” the ministry said.
It added: “The Prime Minister’s schedule and travel plan was communicated well in advance to the Punjab Government. As per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready. Also in view of the contingency plan, the Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda Airport.”
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