Security breach in Parliament: When smoke caused chaos in the parliament

On December 13, the Lok Sabha was being addressed by Khagen Murmu, a BJP MP from Maldaha Uttar in West Bengal, when a loud noise startled the assembly at 1:01 pm. This was no typical incident; rather, it was a serious security breach at the nation’s highest legislative body, the Parliament. At exactly 0:00 hours on the dot, two individuals, Manoranjan from Mysuru and Sagar Sharma from Lucknow, leaped from the visitor’s gallery into the Lok Sabha chamber, ignited yellow gas canisters, and chanted before being subdued and beaten by the Members of Parliament. Rajendra Aggarwal, who was sat in the Speaker’s chair, adjourned the House in a matter of seconds.

Not only were the members of the House in disbelief, but so was the whole nation watching the events on live television. In the last moments of the Sansad TV live broadcast, a guy was spotted leaping from the benches to try to get closer to the speaker’s chair.

Gurjeet Singh Aujla, a Congress MP from Amritsar, was one of the participants who grabbed the smoke canister from the trespassers and threw it outside. Aujla later admitted to doing so because, at first, he believed it to be a bomb in an interview with a media outlet.

Shortly after the pandemonium, two protesters holding identical canisters that spewed red and yellow smoke were taken into custody by police outside Parliament. They were recognized as Amol Shinde (25), from Latur, Maharastra, and Neelam (42), from Hisar, Haryana.

They both sang phrases like “Jai Bheem, Jai Bharat,” “Tanashahi Nahi Chalegi” (dictatorship shall not be tolerated), and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai.”

Neelam said that she was an unemployed student and did not belong to any organizations when she was being held by the police. She said that she was protesting what she saw as unfair treatment of small business owners, farmers, and other marginalized groups.

Holding, giving up, and suspending

Neelam and Shinde, the captives, were transported to the Parliament Street police station, while Manoranjan and Sagar, the intruders, were questioned within Parliament as part of the high-level investigation into the event.

Two other individuals, one of whom was Vikram, were taken into custody from a Gurugram apartment later in the evening. But they were released a day later after the police concluded they had nothing to do with the tragedy.

Sections 153 (want only giving provocation with an intent to cause riot), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 452 (trespass), 186 (obstructing public servant in the discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servants from discharge of his duty), and Sections 16 and 18 of the strict Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) were then invoked by the police against them at the Parliament Street police station.

Another identity emerged throughout the course of the inquiry, and Lalit Jha, a resident of West Bengal, was identified as the mastermind behind the security breach. The accused did not have any mobile devices on them, and after initial interrogation, it was discovered that they had given Jha their phones outside of Parliament just before carrying out the heinous deed.

Immediately, a number of Delhi Police Special Cell squads sprang into action and began a quest for Jha. However, the fugitive Jha handed himself up at the Kartavya Path police station one day after the event, along with the Rajasthani sixth accused, Mahesh Kumawat.

During the questioning of Maharashtra resident Amol Shinde, who was apprehended at Transport Bhawan outside Parliament, it was discovered that the six had been acquainted via social media for the previous four years. They chose to send a message to the administration because they shared the same worldview. An officer had informed TNIE that the security services were attempting to find out whether they were given instructions from any person or organization.

The inquiry also showed that they were motivated to perform this crime by their displeasure with the Manipur crisis, unemployment, and the farmers’ protest.

As eight members of the Parliament security team were suspended for neglecting their duties, heads also started to roll. The eight were on the Central delegation and were affiliated with various security organizations.
However, how could Sagar and Manoranjan enter the canisters when there was a multi-tiered security system in place to safeguard the nation’s most influential citizens?

void in footwear

One of the suspects in the breach case had inspected the ancient Parliament building during the Budget Session, according to the inquiry and questioning that followed. The person who finally discovered that “the shoes were not being checked” was none other than the accused Manoranjan D, who had attended a Budget session to watch the security processes.

According to a Delhi Police source, “he saw that security personnel, though they frisked him completely, missed checking his shoes” as he entered Parliament during the Budget session. All of the police-seized canisters had warnings on them, such as “to always use them after wearing goggles” and “gloves,” and “never use indoors,” according to the incident’s FIR, which this publication was able to see.

Each and every container was a “made in China” item. The two suspects created a specific hole in their shoes to carry the gas canisters into the house, as described in the FIR. Sagar Sharma was wearing a pair of sports shoes with a cavity made by a cut to the inner sole of his left shoe.

By adding more rubber soles to the bottom of the shoes to support the cavity, it was discovered that the thickness of the soles increased. A printed English slogan “Jai Hind” and an image of a tricolor fist with a Hindi message were also found by the police; a brochure on the Manipur problem had an English slogan, among other things.

Portfolio of Perpetrators: Terrorists or Revolutionaries?

The six individuals who planned and obstructed Parliament were Manoranjan, Sagar Sharma, Neelam, Amol Shinde, Mahesh Kumawat, and Lalit Jha. They were all from separate states.

“Victory or defeat, the effort is necessary,” says Jeete ya haare, par koshish jaruri hai, ab dekhna hai ye safar kitna haseen hoga, umeed hai fir milenge. Let’s now examine how magnificent this voyage will be. A few hours before he and Manoranjan D exploded a smoke canister in the Lok Sabha on December 13, Sagar Sharma posted on Instagram, “Hope to meet again.”

The 27-year-old Sharma, an e-rickshaw driver and the son of a carpenter, has 420 followers and 47 responses to his post. He was one of the two guys who went from the House’s visitor’s gallery into the Parliament’s main hall.

Manoranjan D, a native of Mysuru, Karnataka, was managing the family farm as he finished his bachelor’s degree in engineering in 2016. He has had jobs at a few Bengaluru and Delhi-based companies. He presented Sagar Sharma and obtained a permit from BJP MP Pratap Simha’s office to enter the Lok Sabha.

Neelam, one of the two people detained for demonstrating outside Parliament, has previously taken part in a number of agitations, including the farmers’ movement, according to her relatives. Neelam has completed his MPhil, MEd, and Masters degrees, they said. According to Neelam’s brother, she has been studying for competitive exams for the previous five months while residing in a PG building in Hisar.

Amol Shinde, the fourth prisoner, was revealed to be an Indian Army candidate, albeit not much more was known about him. The local police from Zari village stormed into Shinde’s house shortly after it was established that the 25-year-old, who had been arrested while holding flares during a demonstration outside Parliament, was from Latur. They interrogated his parents and searched the little apartment.

The fifth accused, Jha, was employed as a teacher in Kolkata’s Burrabazar neighborhood and had left two years before. It would become clear from a close examination of his Instagram account that Jha took inspiration from two revolutionaries, Chandra Shekhar Azad, and Bhagat Singh. The accused came together via a Facebook group known as the “Bhagat Singh Fans Club.” Jha assumed the position of an unofficial group leader responsible for the security violation. Police have taken notice of some of his tweets, some of which expressed dissatisfaction with the state of affairs.

Jha said that India needs a bomb to “raise a strong voice against tyranny, injustice, and anarchy” in a post titled “WHAT INDIA NEEDS IS A BOMB,” which was followed by a message in Bengali.

The Inquiry

Information on the inquiry has not been released by those with access to it. The New Indian Express also discovered that officials had been told not to talk to members of the media by higher-ups.

Additionally, the Ministry of Home Affairs established an investigation committee led by DG CRPF Anish Dayal Singh, which is looking into what caused the security breach in Parliament, finding any shortcomings, and making recommendations for future action.

All of the suspects are now being held by the police on remand until January 5. The police want to question the two additional suspects, Lalit Jha and Mahesh, who turned themselves in the next day, alongside the four accused who were taken into custody on December 13. The police will now reissue the accused’s SIM cards in order to find out the identities of the persons they spoke with before to the heinous act, as their four cell phones were discovered to be entirely broken.

Repercussions

Due to the serious security breakdown, the opposition turned its full might on the BJP-led administration in power as well as Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been under relentless pressure to quit. Rahul Gandhi, the head of the Congress, has connected the event to the nation’s rapidly rising unemployment rate.

Shah hasn’t officially addressed the situation on the Parliament floor, however. Instead, the members of the Opposition within Parliament have been under routine suspension for the last ten days.

A record 146 opposition MPs from both Houses have been dismissed thus far in what can be described as a total breakdown of communication between the opposition parties and the government in Parliament, setting the stage for a serious conflict between the opposition and the BJP-ruled Central Government.

The incident’s seriousness should not be undervalued: PM Modi

It is imperative that the gravity of the occurrence in Parliament is not undervalued. As a result, the Speaker is acting seriously in taking the required actions. Finding a remedy, comprehending the underlying causes, and outlining the strategies are equally crucial.