Couple of days after Punjab’s senior IAS officer Kahan Singh Pannu was assaulted by a group of pilgrims stranded at Gobind Ghat in Uttarakhand, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday ordered a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the incident.

Ordering probe, Badal said that the assault on Pannu was “an attack on the Punjab Government”, and the SIT has been set up to get to the root of the incident. Badal has directed the state Director General of Police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini to immediately constitute a team and keep him informed of the progress.

Subsequently, DGP constituted a four-member SIT led by Inspector General (Security) Sanjeev Kalra. The SIT comprise DIG Gautam Cheema, who had already been camping at Gobind Ghat to look into this unfortunate incident since Sunday on the directions of the DGP, along with the DIG Cyber Crime Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh and Mohali SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar.

After the submission of the report by the SIT, the ADGP (law and Order) has been mandated by the Chief Minister to take up the entire issue on the basis of the findings with the Uttarakhand authorities for the registration of FIR against all the accused involved in this episode under the relevant sections of law.

Pannu, posted as Punjab Director General School Education (DGSE), was assaulted on Monday when he was supervising the rescue and relief operations at Gobind Ghat. The incident was video-graphed by one of the pilgrims, and later uploaded on You Tube, going viral in the cyber space. The decision to form the SIT came after the Punjab IAS Officers’ Association and Pannu met the Chief Minister on Wednesday morning and demanded action in the incident. Pannu has returned to Chandigarh, and has joined his duty.

Expressing “complete solidarity with the assaulted officer”, Badal told the members of the IAS Officers’ Association that he was fully seized of the matter and of its gravity.

“I have been deeply and personally anguished over the incident,” said Badal while assuring the Association that the government regarded the incident as “an act of extreme provocation, requiring prompt and effective government response, treating it with the gravity that it deserves”.

A day before, the Association had sternly condemned the incident while dubbing it “pre-meditated” and “outcome of some controversy”.

Demanding that ‘criminals must not go unpunished’, the Association has asked the State Government to take up the matter with Uttarakhand Government for lodging an FIR and entrusting the investigation to a SIT in due course after completing the rescue operations.

The demand for directions to the DGP for getting the matter “thoroughly investigated” in case the roots of any conspiracy exist in Punjab was also put forth by the Association.

BADAl SEEKS UTTARAKHAND CM’s INTERVENTION

Punjab Chief Minister shot of a communiqué to his Uttarakhand counterpart Vijay Bahuguna demanding “strictest possible legal action” against all those involved in the attack on its senior IAS officer.

Badal, in his letter to Bahuguna, sought his personal intervention for initiating prompt police and legal action against the guilty involved in this unsavory incident to keep the morale of officers ever high.

Already, Badal had asked the Uttarakhand Government to provide maximum security to all officers of various state governments deputed at different locations in the calamity-stricken state for smooth execution of relief, rescue and rehabilitation work, besides ensuring that such unfortunate acts should never be repeated in future.

TWO PERSONS IDENTIFIED

As per the preliminary reports, two persons have been identified so far. The preliminary findings revealed that Pannu was on his assigned task from Joshimath to Gobind Ghat along with other members of his team including Punjab State Cooperative Banks managing director Kamaljit Singh Sangha, Assistant Project Officer of DGSE office Amarjit Singh, and Punjab Police Inspector Kulbhushan in civil clothes.

Besides these, Pannu was assisted by an Assistant Manager Gurdwara Sahib Joshimath, a Punjab Police constable and an Army jawan in uniform who was deputed by the Commanding Officer of the unit where Pannu was staying at Joshimath.

On June 24, Pannu was on visit at Gobind Ghat to oversee the evacuation operations of pilgrims, where a mob of 30-40 persons attacked him suddenly. In the meantime, the Punjab Police Inspector Kulbhushan rushed to the nearby ITBP patrol party for seeking their help.

FIR REGISTERED UNDER IT ACT, 295-A OF IPC Meanwhile, a case of Cyber Crime was being registered under the provisions of IT Act and section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for hurting the religious sentiments against the culprits at Mohali Police Station.

CONGRESS DEMANDS INDEPENDENT PROBE

Punjab Congress on Wednesday demanded an independent probe to unearth the “deep-rooted conspiracy” behind the attack on KS Pannu.

“Now that KS Pannu has termed the attack on him a deep-rooted conspiracy by vested interests, the whole episode needs to be thoroughly investigated by an independent agency as suggested by Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa,” said party spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira.