When UT DGP played smart

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 27

Chandigarh, which remained peaceful with no untoward incident despite widespread violence and arson in adjoining Panchkula, would have been in trouble had the UT police not sensed it and allowed the 308-vehicle cavalcade of maverick self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to enter the city en route Panchkula to reach the court on Friday.

It was at the last minute when the serpentine cavalcade had entered Punjab boundary in Lalru from Ambala on way to Panchkula that a senior Haryana intelligence officer called up UT DGP Tajender Singh Luthra to provide access and allow the cavalcade to pass through Chandigarh before entering Panchkula.

Surprised over the move, Luthra asked the Haryana officer to give justification of entering Chandigarh when the cavalcade was scheduled to enter Panchkula via Zirakpur without entering Chandigarh as per the route programme, prepared by the Haryana police itself.

However, the Haryana intelligence officer failed to give any justification and reasoning for the same, following which the UT DGP sensed trouble.

Apprehending that it could disturb the peace of the city, Luthra put up a brave face and refused the access to the cavalcade despite Haryana’s pressing request.

Adamant to get way from Chandigarh, the Haryana intelligence officer, when found no affirmative response from the UT DGP, put up a volte face and told Luthra that he would make the cavalcade pass through Chandigarh and would see how he stops it.

When the situation reached the flashpoint and led to a clear stand-off, the UT DGP, who was at that time in a meeting with Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore, rushed to the first check post of the UT police on the Punjab-Chandigarh border on the Zirakpur side and further strengthened the naka.

Till then, the cavalcade had entered Zirakpur and was heading towards Chandigarh. At this, Luthra deployed a pilot vehicle of the UT police to escort the cavalcade, saying it would take it through Chandigarh.

Playing smart, the UT DGP instructed his men to stop the vehicular traffic on the Zirakpur-Chandigarh highway from the Chandigarh side for a while and asked the pilot driver to bring the cavalcade through wrong side from the Zirakpur side.

Till now, Haryana police officers failed to realise the actual plan of the UT DGP and were made to believe that Luthra has finally budged under their “pressure” and had “given up” to allow entry into Chandigarh.

But as the plan had it, the pilot after escorting the cavalcade from the wrong side of the Zirakpur flyover took a U-turn towards Zirakpur after alighting from the flyover and entered Panchkula from the Zirakpur side only.

At this stage, the Haryana intelligence officer realised that he was taken for a ride but now he was helpless to do anything.

This was how the cavalcade entered Panchkula from the Zirakpur side without getting access to Chandigarh.

When contacted, the UT DGP confirmed the development and said it could have disturbed Chandigarh’s peace and led to major traffic chaos on the city roads if the cavalcade was not diverted from Zirakpur towards Panchkula without entering the UT as per the actual route plan chalked out by the Haryana police.