The Punjab and Haryana high court has mandated a Haryana-cadre IPS officer, Ms. Manisha Chaudhary, to lead the inquiry into the incident in which a man snatched a pistol from an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) protecting a judge and shot himself fatally outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Ms. Chaudhary, a 2011-batch IPS officer, the incumbent additional inspector general (administration) of Haryana Police in Panchkula, was earlier Chandigarh’s senior superintendent of police for traffic and security.
What Led To This Development?
The court’s decision follows the registration of three FIRs (first-information reports) related to the incident, including one under Section 304 (snatching) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the E Division police station of Amritsar. The others were under sections 285 (obstructing public passage) and 8-B (damaging an NH by mischief) of the National Highways Act.
In its ruling, the HC directed the IPS officer to submit weekly progress reports and expunged previous remarks suggesting a security lapse by the Punjab Police, clarifying that it did not intend to cast aspersions on the cops’ integrity. The Punjab government had requested this modification, arguing that comments of this sort affected the reputation of its police force adversely. The division bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal issued these orders based on a suo-motu petition. The next hearing on the case is on October 15th.
