New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs has constituted a Committee to probe the serious lapses in the security arrangements during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ferozepur, Punjab on 5th January, which led to the exposure of the VVIP to grave security risk, the ministry informed in a series of tweets.
The three-member panel will be led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat and comprising of Balbir Singh, Joint Director, IB and S. Suresh, IG, SPG.
The committee has been advised to submit the report at the earliest.
The Union Home Ministry on Thursday reiterated that Punjab Police neither followed the protocol nor prepared any contingency route for PM's visit.
A senior official at the Home Ministry told ETV Bharat that it is the responsibility of any state government to prepare all kinds of contingency plan whenever any prime minister has a scheduled visit to the state.
"In this particular case that took place yesterday, the Punjab Police in spite of having intelligence inputs about protesters, did not follow the rule book and did not prepare any contingency plan," the official said.
In fact, the Punjab Police also did not follow the 'Blue Book' issued by Home Ministry for Prime Minister's security where Special Protection Group (SPG) play a major role.
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The Prime Minister's travel plan is shared with the Chief Minister, State Home Minister and DGP. The security plan is issued to the chief secretary also. The SPG accordingly make liasioning with all the concerned officials for the security of the Prime Minister. "Punjab police was aware about the protesters blocking the route," the official said.
As per the guidelines, the state police need to prepare all security as well as contingency route for the PM in case of any adverse situation, the official said. The official said that senior officers of Intelligence Bureau were in close contact with Punjab Police and accordingly informed them about the presence of the protesters.
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"The SPG remain in close proximity to the PM and the rest of the security measures need to be taken care my State police," the official said. The state police also need to inform the SPG "if there is any sudden security issue."
The official said that Punjab police has been asked by the Home Ministry to provide all details of security arrangement that was made during the visit of Prime Minister.
In a major security breach, Prime Minister Modi's convoy was stuck on a flyover for 20 minutes following which his visit to Ferozpur for an election rally was cancelled.
