On March 21, 2023, Tuesday, the Punjab government finally decided to initiate the ‘disciplinary proceedings for a major penalty’ against the former Director General of Police (DGP) Sidharth Chattopadhyaya as well as two other officers over the security breach during the Prime Minister’s visit to the state in January last year. PM Modi’s convoy was stranded on a flyover due to a blockade by the protestors in Firozabad after which he returned from Punjab without attending any event, including a rally. 

In a major security lapse, the Prime Minister’s motorcade had remained stuck on a flyover on the Moga-Ferozepur highway for more than 20 minutes as the farmers were protesting against his visit. The disciplinary proceedings for major penalty will be commenced against Inderbir Singh, the then Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Police of Ferozepur range, and Harmandeep Singh Hans, the then Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Ferozepur, apart from Chattopadhyaya who has since retired. Official resources say that these officers would be asked to submit their responses.

Bhagwat Singh Mann also stated that the explanation regarding this whole matter has to be submitted by, G Nageshwara Rao, the ADGP Cyber Crime , Mukhvinder Singh Chinna, the IGP Patiala Range, Naresh Arora, the ADGP (Law and Order), Surjeet Singh, the DIG Faridkot and Charanjit Singh, the SSP Moga. The retired Supreme Court Judge Indu Malhotra recommended the Supreme Court-constituted inquiry committee report mentioning why disciplinary proceedings should not be initiated against them.

 The move came after the Supreme Court-appointed committee, which probed the security breach during Prime Minister Modi’s visit in Punjab in January 2022, had indicted several state officers for lapses. The committee on August 25th, 2022, submitted its report to the Supreme Court, indicting nine officers for the ‘colossal failure in planning  and coordination.’ The state government has decided to issue him a show-cause notice seeking an explanation since the committee has also raised questions about the role of chief secretary Anirudh Tewari.