Parliament security breach: Sixth accused arrested
Updated: Dec 16th, 2023
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| Two protestors in Parliament (img: IANS) |
Updated on Dec 16, at 6 p.m.
Delhi Police’s special cell has arrested Mahesh Kumawat, the sixth accused in the Parliament security breach case, on charges of criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence, official sources said.
He will be produced before the Patiala House Court later in the day and police are likely to seek his custody to interrogate him.
On Dec 14, after Lalit Jha and Mahesh reached Kartavya Path police station and surrendered, both were taken to the special cell for investigation.
Jha was placed under arrest, while Mahesh was detained for questioning. During the inquiry, Kailash’s involvement emerged, leading to his detention.
Jha, identified as the mastermind behind the entire conspiracy, was reportedly present outside Parliament, accompanied by Mahesh and Kailash, both of whom have now been apprehended by police and are being grilled.
Mahesh had communicated with Jha and others through a Facebook group named ‘Bhagat Singh Fan Page.’
The union home ministry (MHA) on Dec 13 ordered an enquiry into the security breach of the Parliament earlier in the day.
The enquiry will be headed by director general, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Anish Dayal Singh.
In a series of posts on social media platform X, the MHA said, “On request from Lok Sabha secretariat, MHA has ordered an enquiry of parliament security breach incident. An enquiry committee has been set up under Anish Dayal Singh, DG, CRPF, with members from other security agencies and experts.”
The MHA said that the committee will investigate the reasons for breach in security of Parliament, identify lapses and recommend further action.
The committee will submit its report with recommendations, including suggestions on improving security in Parliament, at the earliest, the ministry added.
The enquiry was ordered after the Lok Sabha secretariat wrote to the MHA seeking a security review of the Parliament. The Lok Sabha Secretariat wrote to the MHA seeking a security review of Parliament in wake of the security breach earlier in the day when two people jumped from the visitor's gallery and also sprayed yellow smoke, the sources said.
The two people who jumped in Lok Sabha from the visitor’s gallery were caught and handed over to the Delhi Police. The Delhi Police has registered a case and is investigating the security lapse issue.
A total of five people have been arrested in connection to the incident - two from inside the House, two from outside the Parliament and one from Haryana’s Gurugram.
Updated on Dec 13, at 8.45 p.m.
The breach of Parliament security today was a meticulously-planned and coordinated operation executed by a group of six individuals who maintained communication through Instagram and other social media platforms to devise the plan, Delhi police sources said.
“The suspects formulated the plan several days prior and conducted reconnaissance before entering Parliament today and had selected the date of Dec 13 to execute their act,” a source said.
“Unified by a shared ideology, they collectively aimed to convey a message to the government. They were in touch with each other through social media site Instagram for over a year,” the source added.
Security agencies are currently investigating whether they received instructions from any individual or organisation.
Updated on Dec 13, at 6.50 p.m.
One of the four accused held by the Delhi Police for breaching the security in parliament today is 27-year-old Sagar Sharma, who is an e-rickshaw driver and son of a carpenter.
Sagar Sharma was one of the two men who entered the main hall of the Parliament from the visitor’s gallery in the House.
He is a resident of Alambagh in Lucknow and security agencies, after getting his address from his Aadhaar card, have reached his residence, and are interrogating his family members, including his mother Lali and minor sister.
Lok Sabha speaker on parliament security breach
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha has banned the entry of the Personal Assistants (PAs) of the MPs in the House, sources said.
Speaker Om Birla before adjourning the House for the day dubbed the security breach as a “serious issue”. He also apprised the members that a review of the security arrangements would be done to ensure no such incident takes place in future. Birla also said that action would be taken as per the probe report.
Updated on Dec 13, at 4 p.m. Accused Identified
The two men, who managed to enter the Lok Sabha hall from the visitors' gallery today, have been identified as Manoranjan Kumar, a Karnataka resident, and Sagar Sharma. Sharma has got the visitor’s pass made on the reference of BJP MP from Karnataka’s Mysuru Pratap Simha.
The five accused arrested have been identified as Manoranjan, a resident of Mysuru, Sagar, a resident of Lucknow, Neelam, a resident of Haryana’s Jind, Amol Shinde, a resident of Maharashtra’s Latur and Vikram aka Vicky Sharma, a resident of Gurugram sector-7 and native of Hisar.
One of the accused, identified as Lalit Jha, is still absconding and police said that a manhunt has been initiated to nab him.
A team of the forensic science laboratory (FSL) has collected samples.
The deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Pranav Tayal said the ‘protest’ incident happened outside Parliament in front of Transport Bhawan which is a running road.
Meanwhile, teams of Intelligence Bureau, Special Cell and other central agencies have also reached the Parliament Street police station where Neelam and Amol are detained.
"It will be clear after questioning if the two men caught inside the Lok Sabha and other two caught outside are linked to each other," said the sources.
Two youths who jumped in the well of the Lok Sabha raising slogans “Kaala Kanoon Nahi Chalega, Gundagardi nahi chalegi”.
Updated on Dec 13, at 2.12 p.m.
Delhi Police have detained two protesters, a man and a woman, who were protesting with colour smoke flare outside Parliament today, an official said.
The duo has been identified as Neelam, a resident of Hisar in Haryana and Amol Shinde, a resident of Latur, Maharashtra.
The deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Pranav Tayal said that the incident happened outside Parliament in front of Transport Bhawan which is a running road.
During the day, two unidentified men also jumped from the visitor’s gallery of Lok Sabha following which the House was adjourned.
The incident took place at 1 p.m. when Rajendra Agarwal was chairing the House. The protesters have been taken to Parliament Street police station, where they will be grilled.
After the unidentified men jumped from the visitor’s gallery, there was a slight commotion and the House was adjourned.
The DCP said that this incident was different and details are yet to be known. The police said that as of now they don’t have any information with respect to those detained inside.
Inside the Lok Sabha, one of the men then kept on climbing the tables towards the Chair. However, he was caught by the security officials.
Agarwal then immediately announced the adjournment of the House.
The breach in the security came on the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament Attack.
Earlier in the day, prime minister Narendra Modi and several other parliamentarians paid their tributes to the security personnel who died in the 2001 Parliament attack.
More details are awaited.
(Source: IANS)
- Edited for style
