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PM security lapse: Punjab suspends SP Gurbinder Singh for dereliction
Nearly two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Hussainiwala in the border district of Ferozepur was called off after a security breach, Punjab Police acts against then SP, operations, for the lapse.
The Punjab government has suspended Bathinda superintendent of police Gurbinder Singh for dereliction of duty in connection with the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state on January 5, 2022.
According to an order issued by the state home department on November 21, Gurbinder Singh, who is posted as Bathinda SP, has been placed under suspension with immediate effect.
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He was posted as SP, operations, in Ferozepur where he was performing key duties during Modi’s visit.
“A report dated October 18, 2023, was submitted by the director general of Punjab Police in connection with the security breach during Modi’s visit wherein the DGP made remarks that Gurbinder Singh, then SP, operations, did not perform his duty properly,” states the order by home secretary Gurkirat Kirpal.
The order said after consideration of the matter at the level of the competent authority, the officer concerned has been suspended with immediate effect.
Prime Minister Modi’s convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur after which he returned from Punjab without attending any event, including a rally.
Earlier, a Supreme Court-appointed committee, which probed the breach, had indicted several state officers for lapses. Modi was on his way to Hussainiwala in Ferozepur to address an election rally when his cavalcade had to take a U-turn after farm protesters blocked his way. The PM was stuck on a flyover for 20 minutes.
The SP-rank officer is the first police officer to be suspended for the lapses.
