Security personnel stops and checks vehicles near the Parliament House after a security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack on Wednesday, in New Delhi, December 14, 2023.
Credit: PTI Photo
In a major security breach on Wednesday (December 13) which also happened to be the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack, two people jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery while the proceedings were under way, shouted slogans and released coloured smoke from canisters, triggering panic and chaos in the House.
Around the same time, two other accused -- Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi -- sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting 'tanashahi nahi chalegi (There cannot be dictatorship)' outside Parliament premises.
The Delhi Police have registered a case under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and said the four were part of a group of six who planned the incident.
Five accused have been arrested at the moment while one is still at large.
Among the accused, two of them have a Karnataka connection.
One of the accused, D Manoranjan, is from Vijayanagar in Mysuru, while the other Sagar Sharma is a resident of Uttar Pradesh but had lived in Bengaluru and also visited Mysuru in the past.
According to the police sources, Sharma was a resident of Ramnagar in Alambagh locality in Lucknow and drove an e-rickshaw. His father worked as a carpenter, the police said.
Sharma's family, which lived in a rented accommodation, said that he had left home for Delhi four days ago saying he was going there to take part in some protest without elaborating further.
According to his family, Sharma earlier worked in Bengaluru. Sagar lived in the city with his parents and a sister, the police added.
He was given a pass to enter Parliament by Mysuru MP Pratap Simha.
On the other hand, Manoranjan is a native of Mysuru; he had met Sagar Sharma in 2022 in Mysuru, along with another accused, Lalit Jha, where they made a plan to barge into the Parliament to attract the attention of the country. Later Neelam, 37, and Amol, 25, joined the plan.
A police official visited Manoranjan's house in Mysuru and met his father Devrajegowda.
"Hang my son if he is proven to be guilty," his father had said.
He added, "The character of my son is gold. He always wanted to do good for people. I am shocked to hear that he has indulged in such an act. But I condemn his attack on Parliament, which is a temple built by great people. Whoever has done it, it is wrong. If he is proven to be guilty, he is not my son any more," he said.
(With inputs from DHNS, PTI)