Punjab: Days after Moose Wala's death, HC restores security cover for 423 VIPs

New Delhi, Jun 2: Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday ordered the Punjab government to restore the security cover for all 423 protectees in the state.

The development comes days after Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala was shot down by unidentified assailants as he drove past the Jawaharke village of Mansa district. The gruesome incident took place two days after Punjab Police withdrew the security cover of 424 persons including him.

The state government told the court that it will restore the security for the VIPs on June 7.

The Punjab Police ordered the withdrawal of security of 424 people, including former MLAs, Jathedars of two Takhts, heads of Deras, and police officers, last week. However, the additional director general of police (security) said in an order that the security personnel were "being withdrawn on a purely temporary basis in connection with an emergent law and order duty".

Prominent among the Sikh temporal authorities to have lost the security cover was Giani Harpreet Singh, Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib in Bathinda.

The security of Giani Raghbir Singh, Jathedar of Takht Kesgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib district; Sant Niranjan Dass, chief of Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar; Satguru Udhay Singh Namdhari, Bhaini Sahib, Ludhiana; Giani Jagtar Singh, head granthi at Golden Temple in Amritsar; Baba Lakha Singh, Gurdwara Nanaksar Kaleran wale, Jagraon; and Sant Tarminder Singh, Dera chief of Kahna Dhesian, Goraya in Jalandhar were also been withdrawn, as per the order.

The security of many other politicians, religious leaders, police and IPS officers was also rolled back.