The alleged mastermind of the December 13 Parliament security breach incident was arrested on Thursday by Delhi Police.
Sources said there was no grand conspiracy and foreign handler and they all did this for publicity. They said Lalit Jha, the mastermind, motivated other accused for storming into Parliament.
Sources said he sent another accused Sagar Sharma to collect Parliament passes from Mahadev Road and he broadcasted the whole drama on Facebook.
“Investigations have completely ruled out terror attacks. They knew by this kind of act media would give publicity and acted accordingly. They tried last year also but failed and this year they managed. Agencies probe couldn’t find anything major which is dangerous in terms of their threat to national security,” sources said.
Four of the six accused– Sagar Sharma (26), Manoranjan D (34), Amol Shinde (25) and Neelam Devi (37)– were produced before Delhi’s Patiala House Court which sent them to seven-day police custody. The Fifth accused Vishal Sharma alias Vickey, in whose house the accused stayed in Gurugram before reaching Parliament, is still under detention.
Lalit Jha’s connection with Kolkata has sparked a political debate in the state, with West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar accusing TMC MLA Tapas Roy of being in “convenience” with Jha.
Majumdar shared two photographs of Roy with Jha on X. He said, “Lalit Jha, the mastermind of the attack on our Temple of Democracy, had been in close association with TMC’s Tapas Roy for a long time… Isn’t this proof enough for an investigation into the connivance of the leader?” PTI, however, couldn’t independently verify the authenticity of the photographs.
The TMC MLA denied any knowledge of Jha and alleged that the BJP is now trying to shift the goalpost. “We are public representatives; several people click pictures with us. We don’t know everybody in person. The BJP is now trying to shift the blame as they want to divert attention from their failures,” he said.
In a massive security breach that sparked chaos inside the Parliament, two people carrying tear gas canisters jumped into the Lok Sabha chambers from the visitors’ gallery forcing all the members of Parliament to flee and move in panic on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) ordered a probe into the 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 committee will investigate the reasons for the breach in the 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 four arrested persons were charged under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA besides sections of the Indian Penal Code(IPC). Offences punishable under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act(UAPA) are non-bailable.
During the hearing of arguments in court, the Delhi police accused the four of indulging in an act of terrorism and said they tried to incite fear. “It was a well-planned attack on Parliament,” it said.
The police submitted that they have added Sections 16 and 18 of UAPA related to terrorism and conspiracy for terrorism respectively.
“Their right was limited to the gallery. They jumped from the (visitors) gallery into the Well, which was trespass. They hid (smoke) canister in their shoes,” the police said while referring to the security breach.
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