A major security breach occurred in the Indian Parliament on Thursday, December 13 , during the Zero Hour, as two men encroached into the gallery and released yellow smoke, what some reports say was tear gas, at the Members of Parliament. This happened soon after the moment of silence observed on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, in which five Pakistani militants opened fire, killing nine security personnel. Today's attack left the MPs agitated as they were evacuated from the building, while the two men were arrested along with a man and a woman protesting outside the Parliament with smoke canisters.
The attack happened around 1.02 pm, and security quickly sprung into action taking the aggressors away. By 2 pm, the Lok Sabha was back into action, and Speaker Om Birla resumed the session with a brief statement, "We are investigating the matter and have asked Delhi Police to join the inquiry." Five suspects have been nabbed and a case has been filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
What Happened
CCTV footage of the session shows that the two men jumped out of the gallery and began emitting yellow smoke at the MPs during the session, after which chaos ensued in the Parliament. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Anupriya Patel were also present in the session. The intruders can be heard shouting slogans like "tanashahi nahi chalegi" (dictatorship will not be allowed).
VIDEO | Visuals from inside Lok Sabha when the reported security breach took place.
More details are awaited. #Parliament pic.twitter.com/O9n9nu6ZKj
Six Accused So Far
The session encroachers were identified as Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D, who were issued their Lok Sabha visitor pass by BJP MP Pratap Simha who represents Mysuru, Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali told NDTV. Outside, two persons identified as Neelam Devi and Amol Shinde were detained.
A fifth suspect, Vishal Sharma, was arrested a few hours later for allegedly giving shelter to the four who hatched the Parliament encroachment plan. Another accomplice, Lalit Jha is absconding. He allegedly sent a video recording of the attack to a West Bengal-based NGO founder, Nilakshi Aich, asking her to circulate it. Talking to CNN-News18, Aich said that previously Jha was associated with the NGO.
All the suspects are allegedly unemployed youth with disparate backgrounds. The Delhi Police Special Cell has registered a case under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and 120B and 452 of the Indian Penal Code. During the police investigation, the suspects revealed that they were all from different States but had known each other through social media for over four years.
Shinde told the police that they were upset over the farmers' protests, the Manipur crisis, and unemployment. He is a resident of Maharashtra's Latur. Manoranjan D is from Mysusu. Devi claimed to be a student studying for competitive exams after completing her MA, B.ED, M.Ed, and M.Phil and clearing NET. They met in Mysuru about two years ago and had been conspiring to enter the Parliament for a long time, according to Asian News International.
Families Distraught
Manoranjan D's father, Devaraje Gowda, said his son should be "hanged" for his actions. "The parliament is ours... Many people have built that temple, from Mahatma Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru... It is not acceptable for someone to behave like this with the temple, even if it is my son," he told the media, according to ANI.
Neelam Devi's family said that she was despondent for a long time. "She is highly qualified but wasn't getting a job. She was so stressed because of this that she often used to say that I should just die as despite studying so much, I am unable to earn two meals," her mother Saraswati told the media.
Her brother, Ramniwas said he found out about the incident from a relative who phoned him to see the news on TV. "She studies in Hisar and is not linked with any political party. We don't know why she did that. We will know only after meeting her. We came to know about the incident from one of our brothers, who called us. She came home only two days ago," he said.
ANI reported that Sagar Sharma, a Lucknow native, has four members in his family, including him. He rides an e-rickshaw for a living. His family said he told them that he would be going to Delhi for two days to join a protest.
Investigations Underway
Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dimple Yadav told ANI that the Parliament visitors do not undergo strict security checks. "All those who come here - be it visitors or reporters - they don't carry tags. So, I think the government should pay attention to this. I think this is a complete security lapse. Anything could have happened inside the Lok Sabha," she said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also ordered an inquiry into a Parliament security breach incident on Wednesday. "On request from Lok Sabha Secretariat, MHA has ordered an enquiry of 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 Home Ministry told ANI.
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