Zeenews Bureau
Chandigarh: The case involving Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal’s chopper landing took an interesting twist on Friday with reports claiming that the security procedures involving VVIPs were not followed in the incident.
In an exclusive report, Zee News claims that there were serious lapses in security and measures that needed to be followed for high profile persons were violated.
It has been learnt that the chopper carrying Sukhbir Singh Badal, which was forced to make an emergency landing on August 30, was being controlled by an inexperienced co-pilot.
Among the two persons, who were controlling the chopper, the co-pilot was the girlfriend of the pilot.
The co-pilot did not posses a valid license from the aviation authorities although she had applied for the same.
The Zee News revelation has sent shockwaves across the Punjab government, which is now contemplating tough action against the pilot and the co-pilot.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is also conducting an inquiry into the matter.
The top officials, responsible for Badal’s security, are also under scanner for failing to detect this serious lapse.
The Zee news report has put question marks as to who gave permission to the co-pilot to control a chopper carrying the Deputy Chief Minister.
A helicopter ferrying Sukhbir Singh Badal from Delhi was forced to make an emergency landing in Ferozepur district on August 30 after developing some technical snags.
Badal was returning by a Bell 230 chopper, chartered from `Prem Air` by Punjab government, which landed at an open place in Gobind Nagar in Jalalabad, about 500 yards from the BSF helipad.
Punjab government then referred the incident to the DGCA for an inquiry.
