In a major security breach six people entered the Parliament on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack and released yellow gas from canisters on Wednesday. The security breach was well-coordinated and meticulously planned allegedly by six people, five of whom have been nabbed, police sources said.
The six accused are Sagar Sharma (26), Manoranjan D(34), Amol Shinde (25), Neelam Devi (42), Vishal and Lalit.
Who are the accused?
Manoranjan D: Manoranjan was an acquaintance of BJP MP Prathap Simha as he hailed from Mysuru constituency. According to his father Devaraje Gowda, Manoranjan completed his BE (Bachelor in Engineering) in 2016 and was looking after the farm. He also worked in some firms in Delhi and Bengaluru.
His father has maintained that Manoranjan was of impeccable character. "My son is a good boy. He is honest and truthful. His only desire is to do good and sacrifice for the society. He used to read Swami Vivekananda's books. I think he developed such thoughts after reading these books," Gowda said.
Sagar Sharma: Manoranjan introduced Sagar as a friend to the MP's office. He is a resident of Lucknow.
Vishal Sharma: An official said Vishal Sharma earlier worked as a driver in an export company but of late he drove an autorickshaw. His neighbours claimed that he was a drunkard and often quarrelled with his wife. Police have also detained Vishal's wife and her possible role in the incident was being probed, an official said.
Neelam Devi: A resident of Haryana's Jind, Neelam, told police that she was studying for competitive exams. Neelam has done MA, B.Ed, M.Ed, CTET, M.Phil and cleared NET.
Amol Shinde: Amol, a resident of Maharasthra's Latur, is a graduate but unemployed. He worked as a helper of a plumber but later quit the job. Police sources said Manoranjan, Sagar, Neelam and Amol were staying together at a Gurugram house.
Sagar, Manoranjan, Amol and Neelam are now in police custody. Their accomplice Vishal, in whose house the accused stayed before reaching Parliament, has been detained from Gurugram while a hunt is on for their other accomplice Lalit, who is a teacher.
Those in custody are being interrogated by the Delhi Police Special Cell and other security agencies at the Parliament Street Police Station. While the police suspect Lalit was the mastermind of the operation, Manoranjan told cops that he was the main brain behind the plan.
Officials said a case has been registered under relevant sections of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in connection with the incident.
Why did they do it?
Amol told investigators they were upset with issues like the farmers' protest, Manipur crisis and unemployment and that's why they carried out this act. "They had the same ideology and hence decided to give a message to the government. The security agencies are trying to ascertain if they were instructed by anyone or any organisation," an official said.
While being taken away by police personnel, Neelam told reporters, "The Indian government is subjecting us to oppression. When we raise our voices for our rights, we are beaten and thrown in jail. We are subjected to undue force. We do not belong to any organisation. We are students and we are unemployed.
"Our parents work as labourers, and farmers and some are small shopkeepers. An attempt is being made to suppress our voices. Dictatorship will not work," she said.
How did the six execute the plan?
According to the police, all the six accused had known each other for four years and hatched the plan a few days ago.
Passes
Manoranjan knew BJP MP Prathap Simha knew as he hailed from Mysuru constituency and would often visit the parliamentarian's office. He introduced Sagar as a friend to the MP's office and got passes issued on the pretext of visiting the new Parliament building. Though all six accused wanted to enter the House they managed to get only two passes. According to the Parliament rulebook, the MP has to certify that the "visitor is my relation/personal friend/known to me personally and I take full responsibility for her/him".
The prep
Once the passes were secured, they merely had to execute the plan. Amol told police that he bought at least five colour smoke canisters from Maharashtra's Kalyan for Rs 1,200. The police confirmed that he had visited Mumbai.
The accused were in touch with each other through social media platforms and had done a recce before coming to Parliament on Wednesday.
The day before the security breach, Sagar, Manoranjan, Amol, Neelam and Lalit stayed at Vishal's house in Gurugram. In the morning, they left for Parliament.
The Act
The incident in the Lok Sabha chamber took place at around 1:01 pm when BJP MP Khagen Murmu was raising an issue during Zero Hour. While one started crossing the benches in a bid to approach the Speaker's chair, the other was seen dangling from the railing of the visitor's gallery before jumping into the chamber. Sagar and Manoranjan jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery released yellow gas from canisters and shouted slogans. Alarmed members, including Hanuman Beniwal, Malook Nagar and Gurjeet Singh Aujla, overpowered and thrashed the intruders. Members who overpowered the two persons inside the Lok Sabha chamber said,"one of them was saying I am a patriot and came here to protest." JD(U) member Ramprit Mandal said the intruders had hidden the gas canisters in their shoes.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and several opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury were among the over 100 lawmakers present at the time of the incident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were not in the House as they were away in Bhopal for the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings immediately for one hour.
Around the same time -- Amol and Neelam -- also sprayed coloured gas from canisters outside Parliament premises. After opening the gas canisters that emitted the smoke, Amol and Neelam also raised slogans such as "Tanashahi Nahi Chalegi" (dictatorship will not be allowed), "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Jai Bheem, Jai Bharat".
The video
Lalit shot the video of Amol and Neelam releasing smoke from canisters outside the Parliament premises and uploaded it on Instagram. He also kept the mobile phones of Neelam, Amol, Sagar and Manoranjan, police said.
"No mobile phones have been found on the accused and the police are looking for their phones," a police source said.
Security tightened
Following the security breach, the area around Parliament was turned into a fortress with the deployment of police and paramilitary personnel while the Delhi Police's Special Cell has been tasked with the investigation.
Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora visited Parliament to take stock of the situation after the security breach. Forensic teams have collected evidence from the spot.
The Ministry of Home Affairs ordered a probe into the incident following a request from the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The inquiry committee, headed by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General Anish Dayal Singh, along with members from other security agencies and experts, will find out the lapses in the security of Parliament and recommend action, an MHA spokesperson said.
(With PTI inputs.)