PM Convoy Security Beach: Supreme Court to Decide Modalities of Inquiry on Monday, Asks both Central and State Teams to Halt Proceedings
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 7: Even as the Supreme Court on Friday directed a halt till Monday in the inquiry by both the Punjab and centre-appointed committees into the alleged security breach at the convoy of Narendra Modi, fresh questions have been raised how a group of BJP workers were allowed to reach “dangerously close” to the car the prime minister was sitting on the blocked flyover.
While asking both the state and the central government appointed teams to stop the inquiry proceedings till the apex court decided on the mode of the investigation on Monday, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to “forthwith” seize and secure records of the security measures for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab on January 5.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana orally asked Punjab and the Centre to meanwhile put on hold the enquiries of its respective committees till Monday, the next date of hearing.
The Prime Minister’s motorcade was stranded on a flyover in Punjab for 15 to 20 minutes.
The incident created a furious exchange of accusations in public fora and developed into a political fistfight. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court accusing the Punjab police of “connivance.” It claimed the incident posed the “single biggest lapse in security of any Indian Prime Minister in recent years” on which the apex court agreed on an urgent hearing.
A video, meanwhile, released by Samyukt Kisan Morcha, the umbrella organization of the protecting farmers, showed a group of BJP workers standing barely a few metres from the PM’s car. The clip showed the group carrying a BJP flag shouting slogans of “BJP Zindabad” while standing dangerously close to the Prime Minister’s car – a black Toyota Fortuner -on the other side of the highway. The car then moves away, with the elite Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel forming a shield. This is another example of a huge lapse in the PM’s security that day. Another video shows protesting farmers sitting on the flyover more than a kilometer away from where Modi’s convoy was halted on the flyover. Farmers argue that the BJP workers got far closer to PM Modi than the protesters ever did.
The SKM, which was leading the year-long farmers agitation against the now repealed three contentious farm laws, also took exception to Modi’s reported quip that he “somehow reached back Bathinda airport alive.” Denying that there ever were any threat to his life from the farmers, the SKM said the Prime Minister was using the farmers’ movement to “cover up the failure of his rally.” A senior minister in the Punjab cabinet had also earlier claimed that the PM decided to turn back from the flyover putting the blame on the Congress government in Punjab after learning that jus about 700 people had turned up at the meeting venue at Ferozepur.
Before the case opened in the Supreme Court and it asked both the state and central government teams to stop the inquiry proceedings for the time being, a team from the Union Home Ministry visited the flyover in question on Friday morning in Punjab’s Bathinda to probe security lapses during Modi’s campaign visit on Wednesday. The PM’s convoy stopped for 20 minutes as protesting farmers blocked the road.
The three-member team – Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security); Balbir Singh, Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau; and S Suresh, Inspector-General of the Special Protection Group (SPG), tasked with guarding the Prime Minister – spent 45 minutes at the Pyarayana flyover. They then drove to the Border Security Force’s sector HQ to continue inquiries. Punjab Director General of Police Siddharth Chattopadhyaya, and other senior police and civil officials, including those deployed for the Prime Minister’s visit on Wednesday, were also called for questioning later in the day.
The Home Ministry has sent a notice to Bathinda top cop, asking for a reply in a day. Earlier today Punjab Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari wrote Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla with updates on the state’s inquiries. He confirmed that a police case had been filed and a two-member committee – Justice (retd) Mehtab Gill and Anurag Verma, Principal Secretary of Punjab’s Department of Home Affairs – would submit a report in three days.
The incident of Modi being held up on the flyover for about 20 minutes when he was on his way to a BJP rally at Ferozepur caused breaking out of a massive political row. His convoy – he was travelling the 100 km from Bathinda to the rally by road after bad weather grounded his helicopter – was blocked by protesting farmers. He was stopped 10 km from the venue.
The farmers who blocked the road said they had no idea the Prime Minister was passing that way. They admit they were asked to move by state police officials (once it was clear PM Modi was travelling by road) but saw it as a trick to get them to abandon protests.
Questions have been raised over the sequence events that led to the convoy getting stuck on that flyover. This includes the big point – why was he on an unsanitised route? Why did the PM’s security detail agree to a road trip if there was intel about protesting farmers, and did the police clear (did they get enough time?) the proposed route?
The BJP on Thursday released what it claimed were internal memos of Punjab Police directing its officers to make “necessary security, traffic and route arrangements” for the PM’s visit. These memos, the BJP claims, also warn of last-minute plan changes due to bad weather and that “farmers are likely to hold dharnas (that) may result in roadblocks… please make necessary diversion plans”.
The entire incident has triggered a bitter spat between the Congress and the BJP, which has accused the former of “a murderous conspiracy to kill the PM”. Chief Minister Charanjit Channi refuted any such charge. “As a Punjabi, I would die to protect you (the Prime Minister) …but there was no danger. There was no security breach,” he stressed.
During the hearing in the Supreme Court, the petitioner “Lawyers’ Voice” raised the issue of alleged “murderous plan” and cross border terrorism angle since the flyover was barely 10 kilometres away from Indo-Pakistan border. After both the Centre and Punjab traded allegations at the neutrality of their respective committees during the hearing, the apex court directed both the teams to stop proceedings at this juncture till it decided the modalities of investigation on Monday.
On Friday, appearing before the Bench, the Centre joined with petitioner NGO Lawyer’s Voice and expressed suspicions about the security lapse having a “potential cross-border terrorism” angle. It submitted that prior to the Prime Minister’s visit, a banned organisation abroad published a video exhorting people to certain acts. It said the presence of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the investigation was essential. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the event could be pegged as “rarest of rare” as it could have unfolded into an “international embarrassment” for India.
Mehta again agreed with senior advocate Maninder Singh, for the petitioner, to urge the court to immediately direct the seizure and protection of records pertaining to the security arrangements that were in place for the Prime Minister’s motorcade. The Centre and the petitioner said the court could carve the way ahead once the evidence was protected. Mehta said, “The investigation should rise above central and State politics.”
Punjab Government, represented by Advocate General D.S. Patwalia, accepted that the incident was “very, very grave in nature.” It, however, expressed the apprehension that the Centre, through its committee, would pile the blame for the lapse entirely on the police. He alleged that there were chinks in the Special Protection Group’s (SPG) measures too.
Patwalia informed the court that it was ready to face a “neutral” panel that would hear all sides on the issue. The Lawyer’s Voice petition “reeked of politics”, he observed. “The Chief Minister has said this our Prime Minister,” he submitted. Punjab said it was the first to constitute a probe committee.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Maninder Singh said it was not a law and order issue, but one of national security. “There is an impermissible stoppage of the PM’s cavalcade for 20 minutes… which is the highest breach of any VIP security,” he pointed out.
“This cannot be allowed to happen again for which we all have to put our heads together,” he said, adding “this is a state which is ready to go for election”. Singh said the purpose of the plea was to get the matter “professionally investigated” and underlined that it “cannot be done by the state”.
He said that after he had brought the matter to the notice of the court on Thursday, the Punjab government had appointed a committee to look into it. He also pointed out that the panel’s head had been the subject matter of a reported judgment of the Supreme Court in 2011. The apex court had in that case said that “he targeted the police officers who conducted investigation into his conduct by using his judicial powers”, Singh said, adding that his appointment to the committee raises suspicions on the bona fides of the inquiry.
“The need of the hour is documents pertaining to this entire journey must be taken into custody for protection,” he said and urged the court to direct that this be done by a district judge with the assistance of NIA officials.
Though the Centre suggested that the Bathinda district judge could collect and secure the records with the assistance of the NIA, the Bench decided to give the responsibility to the senior official of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
“We direct the Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court, to secure the records forthwith,” the apex court ordered.
It also ordered the Punjab government, including State police authorities; the SPG; other central and State agencies to cooperate and assist the Registrar General to seize and protect the records. It further directed the Director General of Police (DGP), Union Territory of Chandigarh, and NIA officers to be included in the team to assist the Registrar General to collect the records.
During the hearing, Patwalia said the separate committees of the State and the Centre have been asked to submit reports on their findings in the 24 to 72 hours. The Centre had called the DGP to give a report in 24 hours. “They are being summoned as part of a fact-finding enquiry… But my committee will hold its horses till Monday,” he stated.
Chief Justice Ramana addressed Mehta, “Please hold your committee… Now we are collecting the records. Let it wait till Monday.” The Solicitor General agreed to convey this to the government.
Singh submitted that the apex court should decide what step to take further once the evidence was secured and kept in protective custody. The court should lay down guidelines as the country cannot afford further breaches in the security of the Prime Minister, he stressed.
