Lalit Jha, the alleged mastermind behind the recent attack at the new Parliament in India, has surrendered to Delhi Police.
According to reports, he went to the police station on Kartavya Path (‘Path of Duty’, the boulevard that was earlier called Rajpath or ‘Path of the Ruler’) and surrendered yesterday. He has been formally arrested and the New Delhi District Police have handed him over to the Special Cell.
Jha, a Kolkata-based teacher, had been on the run for nearly two days. He and three others were involved in the attack inside and outside the new Parliament building on December 13. It is no coincidence that the major security breach came on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack.
While Jha was later identified as the mastermind of this week’s security breach, two men — Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D — jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by MPs.
Around the same time, two others, including a woman, raised slogans and released yellow smoke from canisters outside the Parliament premises, prompting the police to round them up.
According to the police, the Parliament security breach was well-coordinated, meticulously planned, and carried out by six people. Sagar, Manoranjan, Amol, and Neelam were nabbed from the incident spot; their accomplice Vishal, in whose house they stayed before reaching Parliament, was detained from Gurugram. Now with Jha’s surrender, all the six are in custody.
Police file terrorism charges against four of those arrested
Delhi Police have filed terrorism charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against four of the people arrested. The security breach also led to the suspension of eight Delhi Police personnel.
Sagar Sharma (26), Manoranjan D (34), Amol Shinde (25), and Neelam Devi (37) were charged under UAPA, besides sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Offences punishable under UAPA are non-bailable.
The four accused reportedly told the police that they wanted to highlight issues like joblessness and the ethnic violence in Manipur, and that they wanted to bring these to the MPs’ attention.
A Delhi court sent the four arrested people to the city police’s custody for seven days for interrogation after they were produced before Special Judge for NIA Cases Hardeep Kaur. The police had sought their custodial interrogation for 15 days.
During the hearing of arguments, Delhi Police accused the four of engaging in an act of terrorism and said that they had tried to incite fear. “It was a well-planned attack on Parliament,” said the police.
They submitted that they had 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,” said the police, referring to the security breach.
The prosecution said that the custodial interrogation of the four arrested people was necessary to unravel the actual motive behind the incident and find out if some other people were also involved. “Special shoes were made in Lucknow, which needs to be probed. They need to be taken to Mumbai, Mysore, and Lucknow for probe,” the court was told.
14 MPs from Opposition parties suspended for causing chaos
Sources said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a meeting with some ministers in the Parliament complex, underlined the sensitivity of the security breach issue. He advised his ministerial colleagues to not engage in any political squabbling with Opposition leaders over the matter.
Proceedings were disrupted in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha — the two houses of Indian Parliament — forcing several adjournments following vociferous protests by the Opposition. These Opposition MPs demanded a statement from the government on the security breach.
As many as 14 Opposition MPs, including one from Rajya Sabha, were suspended for disrupting the proceedings. While TMC’s Derek O’Brien was suspended in Rajya Sabha, nine from the Congress, among others, faced similar action. The government, on its part, asserted that a high-level inquiry had been initiated into the incident. It asked the Opposition not to politicise the security breach issue.
—With inputs from CtoI News Desk
