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Punjab DGP, other cops to face action over PM security breach
Bhagwant Mann has decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings for a major penalty against Sidharth Chattopadhyaya, the then DGP Punjab, Inderbir Singh, the then DIG, Ferozepur Range and Harmandeep Singh Hans, the then SSP, for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security breach in Punjab in January 2022.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann has ordered the initiation of “disciplinary proceedings for major penalty” against former director general of police (DGP) Sidharth Chattopadhyaya and two other police officers over the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state in January last year.
Apart from Chattopadhyaya, who has since retired, the disciplinary proceedings for major penalty will be initiated against Inderbir Singh, the then deputy inspector general (DIG) of police of Ferozepur range, and Harmandeep Singh Hans, the then senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Ferozepur.
These officers would be asked to submit their responses.
Also Read | PM Modi’s Punjab visit: Officers to be charged over security breach
According to the Home Affairs department's communication to the personnel department issued on Monday, Mann also decided that explanations be sought from Naresh Arora, the then ADGP (Law and Order), G Nageshwara Rao, the then ADGP Cyber Crime, Mukhvinder Singh Chhina, the then IGP Patiala Range, Rakesh Agrawal, the then IG Counter Intelligence and Nodal Officer, Surjeet Singh, the then DIG Faridkot, and Charanjit Singh, the then SSP Moga, as to why disciplinary proceedings should not be initiated against them as recommended in the Supreme Court-constituted inquiry committee report.
The move came after the Supreme Court-appointed committee, which probed the security breach during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Punjab in January 2022, had indicted several state officers for lapses.
On January 5, 2022, 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.
