The Central team probing the “ serious lapses” in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security during his Ferozepur tour visited the town on Friday and interacted with senior officials.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Government submitted a report to the Centre saying an FIR had been registered in the matter.
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The Prime Minister’s convoy was stranded on a flyover due to the blockade, after which he returned from the poll-bound State without attending any event, including a rally.
The three-member committee, constituted by the Union Home Ministry on Thursday, sought all the details regarding the sequence of events that unfolded during Mr. Modi’s January 5 visit, sources said.
‘No security lapse’
The Punjab Government has maintained there was no security lapse. On Thursday, it had announced a two-member panel to investigate the matter. It had been asked to submit its report in three days.
The Punjab Police has also registered an FIR in Ferozepur against nearly 150 unidentified protesters who blocked Mr. Modi’s cavalcade on Wednesday.
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Amid foggy weather conditions, the three-member Central team visited the Pyarayana flyover near Ferozepur on Friday morning and interacted with senior Punjab Police and civil administration officials. The team is led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat, and has Balbir Singh, Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau, and S Suresh, IG, Special Protection Group as members.
It spent around 45 minutes at the flyover before heading to the BSF sector headquarters for further questioning and investigation.
At the BSF sector headquarters in Ferozepur, which is around 10 km from where the incident took place on National Highway 5, the Central team remained closeted with the senior civil and police officers who were directly responsible for ensuring the smooth passage of the Prime Minister’s convoy and its foolproof security.
The Centre has advised the committee to submit its report at the earliest.
Details shared: officials
It is learnt that a showcause notice has been issued by the MHA to a couple of senior officials from Bathinda and Ferozepur over the “grave security lapse” during the Prime Minister’s visit.
Meanwhile, Punjab’s Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari wrote to the Union Home Ministry informing it that an FIR had been lodged in connection with the incident.
Mr. Tewari is learnt to have shared details pertaining to the sequence of events that unfolded on Wednesday, official sources in the State said.
