Gurugram: A group of Congress workers pulled black cloths out of their pockets and waved them at Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s convoy in Gurugram on Friday. Within hours, the lapse in VIP security had cost several police officials their postings.
The Gurugram Police Commissioner, Sibash Kabiraj, took serious note of the breach and ordered strict action.
Showcause notices were issued to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Karan Goel, and the DCP (Crime), Hitesh Yadav, both Haryana Police Service officers, fixing responsibility at the top.
The Station House Officer of Civil Lines Police Station, Bijender Singh, along with several policemen who were on duty at the spot, and the security in-charge of the west zone, were suspended with immediate effect.
A departmental inquiry was ordered against the intelligence in-charge.
A spokesperson of the Gurugram Police confirmed these developments to ThePrint.
He said that the Commissioner of Police has made it clear that any negligence, lack of coordination or laxity in VIP security arrangements would be treated seriously, and that responsibility would be fixed under rules whenever such disruptions occurred.
Gurugram Police’s priority, the commissioner said, remained VIP security, law and order, and public safety.
आज मुख्यमंत्री श्री नायब सिंह सैनी जी के गुरुग्राम विश्वविद्यालय आगमन पर NSUI गुरुग्राम ग्रामीण जिला अध्यक्ष भाई नितिन यादव जी, NSUI शहरी जिला अध्यक्ष भाई सचिन बसोया जी, कांग्रेस शहरी जिला अध्यक्ष श्री पंकज डावर जी एवं कांग्रेस ग्रामीण जिला अध्यक्ष भाई वर्धन यादव जी के नेतृत्व… pic.twitter.com/m9EjAadK1W
— Haryana Congress (@INCHaryana) August 21, 2026
Eight Congress workers were arrested and booked in connection with the protest. Police identified them as Neeraj Yadav of Manesar, Shiv of Ghatola, Nikhil of Bhiwani, Anuj of Kanhai, Harkesh of Feroz Gandhi Colony, Aman of Patauda Chowk in Manohar Nagar, Rajiv Yadav of Krishna Nagar, and Harendra of Tauru in Mewat district.
More than 15 Congress workers, led by the party’s rural district president Vardhan Yadav, had suddenly pulled out black cloths, perhaps kept in their pockets, and waved them at the chief minister’s convoy as it passed.
Policemen travelling with the convoy tried to stop them, but the workers had already got close to the vehicles by then.
The Civil Lines SHO was suspended late in the evening, and the commissioner sought explanations from the DCP (West) and the DCP (Crime). A departmental probe against the intelligence in-charge followed.
After showing the flags, Yadav posted a video of the incident on his X.
In another video in which he narrated the reasons behind showing black flags to the CM, and posted on X, Yadav said the protest was over problems at Gurugram University — first-year students had not received their results, infrastructure on campus was inadequate, and local and rural students had no bus or transport facility to reach the campus, even though it was a government university charging fees on a par with private institutions.
He cited Bhagat Singh’s remark that the deaf need an explosion to be heard, saying the chief minister had heard the students’ voices before he reached the university.
Vardhan Yadav posted yet another post on his X with the screenshot of one of his posts removed from the social media platform, with comments, “The government may remove our voice of protest from social media, but silencing the fire of justice burning in our hearts is beyond its power. The voice can be suppressed, not our resolve. The struggle will continue…”
A police source confided to The Print that there was no advance intelligence about a possible protest along the chief minister’s route as late as Thursday.
Senior officers received word only late that night. Some officers reportedly called Congress leaders overnight to check on the plan, but security on the CM’s route was not tightened afterwards.
That protesters managed to get so close to the convoy has raised questions about the police team deployed on the ground.
The chief minister had attended a meeting of the district public relations and grievance redressal committee before heading to a ‘Chaupal’ programme at the GenH Startup Summit 2026 in Gurugram University.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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