Police said the four accused, who are in custody for seven days, will be taken to their home towns as part of the probe.
Published Dec 15, 2023 | 2:39 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 15, 2023 | 5:40 PM
Parliament security breach mastermind Lalit Mohan Jha.
The Delhi Police Special Cell has questioned two more persons in connection with the Parliament security breach case. The two, one of them from Rajasthan, were picked up by the Special Cell’s Counter Intelligence unit late night on Thursday, 14 December.
The two had helped Lalit Mohan Jha — alleged to be the brain behind the plan — hide after he went absconding, PTI quoted a source as saying.
Jha, who had been on the run since Wednesday, when four people breached the security protocol inside and outside Parliament, walked into a police station in the New Delhi district Thursday night and is now being interrogated by a counter-intelligence team, the police source said.
One of the two persons under interrogation originally wanted to be part of the group that breached the Parliament security but “could not come on that day”, the source said.
Meanwhile, a Delhi court Jha to 7-day police custody for his sustained custodial interrogation.
Special Judge Hardeep Kaur remanded Jha in Delhi police’s custody after the public prosecutor said he was the mastermind of the incident and was required to be questioned to unearth the entire conspiracy.
The court passed the order on an application filed by the city police which sought his custody for 15 days.
Police said besides the eight people — who have either been arrested or questioned in the incident till now — there were a few more who were the part of online Bhagat Sigh Yuva Fan Club, which has now been deleted.
Police are trying to access the list of members of the group, the source said.
Jha, a teacher and an NGO member, said he had destroyed the four mobile phones he took from Sagar, Manoranjan, Neelam, and Amol — the four who executed the plan inside and outside the Parliament — but his claim is being verified, the person said.
The counter-intelligence team has also interrogated Jha to ascertain if he was instructed or guided by any person or organisation in breaching Parliament security.
Police said that the four accused, who are in police custody for seven days, will be taken to their home towns as part of the investigation.
They will be taken to places where they held the meetings for the execution of the plan.
“For this, the Special Cell has made separate teams, who will take these accused to various locations,” said an official.
Lok Sabha was adjourned in less than a minute of the House meeting for the day, on Friday, 15 December, as Opposition MPs raised slogans demanding Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on the Parliament security breach.
The Opposition MPs have been demanding a discussion on the security breach that took place two days back.
They are also seeking action against the BJP MP who authorised the passes for the two people who jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors’ gallery on 13 December.
On Wednesday, two people jumped into the well of the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors’ gallery, shouted slogans like “Tanashahi nahi chalegi” (Dictatorship will not allowed), and released yellow smoke from canisters that triggered panic and chaos in the House.
Soon after the security breach, Speaker Om Birla had ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also ordered a probe into the Parliament security breach following a request from the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
The inquiry committee, headed by Central Reserve Police Force Director General Anish Dayal Singh, along with members from other security agencies and experts, will ascertain the reason for the lapse in the security of the Parliament building and recommend action, an MHA spokesperson said.
Sources said on Thursday that eight personnel have been suspended for lapses.
Two persons — Sagar Sharma and Karnataka man Manoranjan D — jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber and two other accused — Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi — sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting anti-government slogans outside the Parliament premises.
(With PTI inputs)
