Parliament security breach: Mastermind Lalit Jha sent to 7-day police custody
Updated: Dec 15th, 2023
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| Lalit Jha (image: IANS) |
Updated on Dec 15, at 7.30 p.m.
A Delhi court today sent Lalit Jha, the alleged mastermind in the Parliament security breach case, to seven-day police custody.
After being on the run following the incident on Dec 13, Jha had surrendered before the Kartavya Path police station in New Delhi district on the night of Dec 14. He was produced at the Patiala House Courts today which sent his to seven-day police custody.
On Dec 14, the same court had sent four accused persons- Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D, Neelam Azad and Amol Shinde- to seven-day police custody. All four were arrested from the Parliament premises on Dec 13.
Updated on Dec 15, at 5.15 p.m.
The West Bengal Police have started a probe to see if the NGO having links to Lalit Jha, the prime accused in the Parliament security breach incident, had any connection with the Maoists, an official said today.
An apprehension over Maoist links emerged after it was learnt that the NGO- Samyabadi Subhash Sabha runs a free coaching centre at Tunturi district in West Bengal's Purulia district, which was once a stronghold of the Maoists.
Jha's acquaintance in West Bengal, Nilakkha Aich, is said to be one of the founding members of the NGO.
Aich had already been questioned by the West Bengal Police on Dec 14.
As per preliminary information received by the police about the coaching centre, it is housed in an isolated and dilapidated room with asbestos shade and broken windows.
According to the local residents of Tunturi village, some children used to come there.
Aich, a second-year under-graduate student at a reputed college in West Bengal, was reportedly acquainted with Lalit Jha and the latter had sent video of the security breach in the Lok Sabha to the mobile phone of Aich through WhatsApp on Dec 13, hours after the incident took place.
Meanwhile, a Delhi Police team, headed by two senior officers, has arrived in Kolkata for an investigation into the matter, especially on the antecedents of Jha during his stay in Kolkata.
According to sources, during his stay in Kolkata, Jha had rented a place in the Burrabazar area.
As per the owner of the house, Jha used to pay the rent online.
The neighbours have told the police that Jha was an extremely introvert person who rarely interacted with them. The Delhi Police are expected to question Aich in this connection.
Updated on Dec 15, at 10.37 a.m.
The alleged mastermind behind the Parliament security breach case, Lalit Jha, surrendered before the Delhi Police on the night of Dec 14, officials privy to the probe told the news agency.
“Yes, we have Jha in our custody. We will share more details after we question him,” an officer said.
Jha surrendered before the Kartavya Path police station in New Delhi district.
“He has been handed over to the Special Cell for further investigation,” a source said.
Charges against Lalit Jha
The case registered against the accused and Jha, a native of Bihar, at the Parliament Street police station invokes Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 452 (trespassing), 153 (provocation with intent to cause a riot), 186 (obstructing public servants in the discharge of public functions), and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servants from duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with Sections 16 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
As per a source, Jha took away the mobile phones of the four other accused just before executing their plan and made a hasty getaway.
He also reportedly filmed the protest by Amol and Neelam outside the Parliament and shared it with a person named Nilakkha Aich, who is linked to an NGO (Samovadi Subash) in West Bengal.
As per sources, a team from the Special Cell of Delhi Police is expected to go to West Bengal to question Aich, a second-year under-graduate student at a reputed college in the state.
The accused and their plan
Earlier on Dec 14, the four main accused arrested in connection with the case- Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D, Neelam Azad and Amol Shinde- were sent to seven-day police custody by a Delhi court.
While Manoranjan is from Mysuru, Sagar is a resident of Lucknow, Neelam is from Haryana's Jind, while Amol hails from Maharashtra's Latur.
According to sources, the five main accused had reportedly spent the night before the incident at the residence of a person named Vikram alias Vicky Sharma in Sector 7, Gurugram. They had left the house at 8 a.m. on Dec 13.
Vikram and his wife Rakhi, who were detained in connection with the case, were let go on Thursday evening after hours of questioning.
All the five accused involved in the security breach were connected through the ‘Bhagat Singh Fan Club’ page on Facebook, sources privy to the probe told the agency, adding that the investigators suspect that they were being directed by someone both before and during the act.
(Source: IANS)
-Edited for style
