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The Delhi Police have registered a case against six accused under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for the Parliament security breach. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has suspended eight of its personnel for dereliction of duty, which resulted in two of them jumping into the House chamber from the visitors gallery.
On the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack on Wednesday, two persons — Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D — dodged the three layers of security to get into the public gallery on the first floor of the new parliamentary building and jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber during Zero Hour. The duo also uncorked the canisters, releasing yellow gas in the House, and shouted slogans before being overpowered by some MPs, including those of Congress.
The Delhi Police Special Cell, the specialised anti-terror unit, has taken over the probe from the Parliament Police Station, where two of them, including Neelam Azad, were taken after being handed over to the cops.
Around the same time, two other accused — Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi — sprayed coloured gas from canisters outside the House but within the Parliament building complex while shouting “tanashahi nahi chalegi (dictatorship will not be allowed)“. They had managed to get inside the Parliament by procuring an entry pass requested form the LS Secretariat by BJP’s Mysore MP Pratap Simha.
Overall, they were part of a group of six people who planned the incident. Their families, who claimed to the media last evening after the news broke, stated that they were not aware of the crime committed by them, mentioning that the individuals were frustrated for not having jobs. Delhi police sources stated that all the six had met through Facebook about a year and a half ago and were part of the “Justice for Azad Bhagat Singh”.
The case, said police officials, has been registered under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 452 (trespass), 153 (wantonly giving provocation, with intent to cause riot), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and UAPA sections 16 and 18 at the Parliament Street police station.
Meanwhile, the security staff suspended by the Lok Sabha Secretariat are Rampal, Arvind, Vir Das, Ganesh, Anil, Pradeep, Vimitt, and Narendra. Though the watch and ward staff of Parliament acknowledged a major security breach and that too on the Parliament attack anniversary, they have been operating at 70 per cent less workforce on the ground. A source said that since 2013, no recruitment has taken place to hire security personnel, even though the Parliament’s geographical area has increased due to the new building. Moreover, there is no Joint Security (Security) to ensure the Parliament’s safety. A Director, who is a DIG from the Border Security Force, is officiating as JS (Security), sources pointed out.
Security gadgets and equipment cannot replace men, as stated by a watch and ward staff member. Another officer said that it seems security inputs were not considered while creating the design of the new building, as the height of the visitors’ gallery overlooking the House below is not a constraint, unlike in the old building. This poses a potential risk for anyone who wants to jump into the chamber.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has also constituted an inquiry under the CRPF DG Anish Dayal Singh on the request from the Lok Sabha Secretariat to probe the Parliament security breach incident. The inquiry committee, which will have other members from security agencies and experts, will investigate the reasons for breach in the security of Parliament, identify lapses, and recommend further action, a Ministry of Home Affairs spokesperson said last night. The Committee will submit its report with recommendations, including suggestions on improving security in Parliament, at the earliest, he added.
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