Punjab cop suspended for PM security breach in 2022

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.

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.

On January 5, 2022, Prime Minister 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.

According to the suspension order, a report dated October 18, 2023 on the incident was submitted by the Director General of Police (DGP) in which the state police chief said that Singh did not perform his duty properly.

After consideration of the matter at the level of the competent authority, the officer concerned is suspended with immediate effect, said the order issued in Punjabi.

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.