A fresh petition seeking a National Investigation Agency probe into the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab on January 5 was filed before the Supreme Court on Monday. The apex court has said it would set up a panel headed by its former judge to probe the matter and stayed the parallel inquiries by committees of the Centre and the state government into the lapses. The petition sought a direction to the NIA or any other specialised probe agency to investigate the role of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, state Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari, Director General of Police Sidharth Chattopadhyaya and senior superintendent of police, Ferozpur, Harmandeep Singh Hans in the incident. “To uphold the rule of law and to ensure safety of life of an ordinary citizen, the authorities empowered to carry out rule of law, if found in breach of the same, must be brought to book. Therefore, the petitioner has preferred the instant petition praying for thorough investigation in the incident dated January 5 through specialized prosecuting agency like NIA or any other agency as this court may deem fit and proper,” said the petition filed by advocate Barun Kumar Sinha.
The top court is currently hearing a plea of an organisation, Lawyers Voice, seeking a thorough investigation into the breach in Modi’s security in Punjab to ensure there is no such incident in the future. On January 5, the Prime Minister’s convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by protesters in Ferozepur. After that, he returned from poll-bound Punjab without attending any event, including a rally.
Source: Economic Times
