Guwahati: Amid outrage over the killing of Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked Punjab government to explain the basis on which it had recently withdrawn or pruned the security of the protectees.
HC Judge Justice Raj Mohan Singh court on Monday also asked the Punjab govt to explain the basis of its decisions to withdraw or prune the security — whether it was individual or otherwise, Tribune reported.
Singer Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead in the Mansa district of Punjab on Sunday evening, a day after Punjab Police curtailed the security cover of 420 people including him.
The court further asked the government to explain how the information on the withdrawal of security came in the public domain. Justice Raj Mohan Singh also set a two-day deadline for the purpose of furnishing the information.
Justice Raj Mohan Singh made it clear that the state’s report would be furnished in a sealed cover.
The HC made this observation while hearing a petition filed by Punjab’s former deputy Chief Minister OP Soni through counsel Madhu Dayal.
Soni was, among other things, seeking the quashing of order dated May 11 de-categorising his security from “Z” and the withdrawal of security personnel.
Dayal on Soni’s behalf contended that the Punjab Police withdrew security cover of 184 ex-ministers and former MLAs on “pick and choose basis rather than actual threat perception” after the formation of the current AAP government.