Punjab Police Officer Suspended for Dereliction of Duty During PM Modis Visit

An officer of the Superintendent of Police (SP) rank in Punjab has been suspended for alleged dereliction of duty in connection with the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state in January last year. The officer, Gurbinder Singh, was at the time of the incident posted as the Superintendent of Police Operations and was on duty in Ferozepur.

The Incident

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 of the events, including a rally. The security breach ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections had led to a major political controversy.

The Suspension

Singh, currently posted as an SP in Bathinda district, has been suspended with immediate effect, according to an order issued by the Punjab Home Department on Wednesday. According to the suspension order, a report dated October 18, 2023, on the incident was submitted by the Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) in which the state police chief said that Singh did not perform his duty properly.

The Investigation

A Supreme Court-appointed committee that probed the security breach had earlier indicted several state officers for lapses. The top court had on January 12 last year appointed the committee to probe the breach, saying these questions cannot be left to one-sided inquiries as they needed judicially trained independent minds to investigate.

The suspension of the SP is the latest development in the ongoing investigation into the security breach. The committee's report is expected to shed more light on the lapses that led to the incident.