The Delhi Police have registered a case against the six accused under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for the Parliament security breach. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has suspended eight of its personnel for dereliction of duty, which resulted in two intruders jumping into the House chamber from the visitors gallery.
However, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has so far not taken similar action against its own watch and ward staff who too man the inner security ring of the parliament.
On the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack on Wednesday, two individuals — Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D — dodged the three layers of security to get into the public gallery on the first floor of the new parliamentary building and jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber during Zero Hour. The duo also uncorked canisters, releasing yellow gas in the House, and shouted slogans before being overpowered by some MPs.
The Delhi Police Special Cell, which is the specialised anti-terror unit, has taken over the probe from the Parliament Police Station, where two of them, including Neelam Azad, were taken after being handed over to the cops.
Around the same time, two other accused — Amol Shinde and Neelam Azad — sprayed coloured gas from canisters outside the parliament building complex while shouting “tanashahi nahi chalegi (dictatorship will not be allowed)“.
Manoranjan had managed to get inside the parliament by procuring an entry pass for himself and Sharma from the the LS Secretariat, on a letter head of BJP’s Mysore MP Pratap Simha. The BJP MP, however, acknowledged to Speaker Om Birla that the pass was issued using his office but stated that he was not aware of the credentials of both the accused, said sources.
Lalit Jha is absconding and the police suspect that he is the conspirator. Overall, six persons are involved in the case.
The Delhi police took Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi on remand after producing them before a Special NIA Court for their custodial interrogation. They are part of a group of six people who planned the incident. Their families, who claimed to the media last evening after the news broke out, stated that they were not aware of the crime committed by them, mentioning that the individuals were frustrated for not having jobs.
Also read: Explainer: What LS handbook says on visitors’ passes for Parliament
Delhi police sources stated that all the six had met through Facebook about a year-and-half ago and were part of the “Saheed Bhagat Singh Fan Club” but did not agree that the case is as simple as it is being made out to be. It is a well planned conspiracy to destabilise the country’s security environment and perpetrators have been chosen with some purpose which would become clear in subsequent investigation, said Delhi police officials.
Their profile is diverse, and come from humble background, with ages of the six intruders spread over mid-20s to late 30s. Sagar Sharma, 27, is a rickshaw puller and hails from Lucknow. A day before he jumped into the House, on his instagram account, he posted, “Jeete ya hare, par koshish to zaruri hai” (Whether I win or lose, will make an effort for sure). He would reportedly ideologise freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara in his social media posts.
Manoranjan D, 34, is a computer engineer and belongs to Mysore, Karnataka. His father Devaraje Gowda disapproved Manoranjan’s actions and said that his son should be “hanged” if found guilty.
The most educated among the intruders is 37-year-old Neelam Azad, who comes from Hisar in Haryana and has participated in Congress public functions, and farmers protest. She holds an M.Phil degree, and cleared the National Eligibility Test but did not get a teaching job—a reason for her frustration, the family told journalists last evening.
Likewise, Amol Shinde, 25, is an Schedule Caste, and son of a farm labourer. Shinde is a resident of a village in Latur, Maharashtra. Shinde failed at repeated attempts to clear recruitment exams in Army and police.
According to officials, the case has been registered under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 452 (trespass), 153 (wantonly giving provocation, with intent to cause riot), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and UAPA sections 16 and 18 at the Parliament Street police station.
Also read: Parliament security breach: Speaker Birla calls meeting of MPs
Though the watch and ward staff of the parliament acknowledged a major security breach and that too on the Parliament attack anniversary, they have been operating at 70 per cent less workforce on the ground. A source said that no recruitment has taken place since 2013, even though the Parliament’s geographical area has increased due to the new building. Moreover, there is no Joint Security to ensure the Parliament’s safety. A Director, who is a DIG from the Border Security Force, is officiating as JS (Security), sources pointed out.
Security gadgets and equipment cannot replace men, as stated by a watch and ward staff member. Another officer said that it seems security inputs were not considered while creating the design of the new building, as the height of the visitors’ gallery overlooking the House below is not a constraint, unlike in the old building. This poses a potential risk for anyone who wants to jump into the chamber.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has constituted an inquiry under CRPF DG Anish Dayal Singh on the request from the Lok Sabha Secretariat to probe the incident. The inquiry committee, which will have other members from security agencies and experts, will investigate the reasons for breach in the security of parliament, identify lapses, and recommend further action, a Ministry of Home Affairs spokesperson said last night. The committee will submit its report with recommendations, including suggestions on improving security in parliament, at the earliest, he added.