New Delhi: In an incident that exposed glaring security loopholes in the Parliament, two intruders jumped from the visitor's gallery in Lok Sabha, shouted slogans and threw something that emitted yellowish smoke on Wednesday marking the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack.
Around the same time, two persons, including a woman, also sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting slogans 'tanashahi nahi chalegi' outside the Parliament premises. Two persons, involved in the Lok Sabha incident, have been identified as Sagar Sharma and D. Manoranjan. Sharma had come to the visitor's gallery as a guest of Mysuru Lok Sabha member Prathap Simha.
Those detained outside the parliament were identified as Neelam Devi and Amol Shinde. At around 1 pm, the two intruders jumped into the chamber from the public gallery. While one was spotted jumping over the benches, the other was left dangling from the gallery before jumping into the Chamber, according to several MPs present in the House. BJP member Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the chair, adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm as one part of the Lok Sabha chamber was filled with yellow-coloured smoke.
"Two intruders have been arrested from inside Parliament, two from outside. All their belongings have been seized...The entire matter is being investigated thoroughly," Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said when the House re-convened at 2 pm. With some members raising the issue of the recent threat to attack Parliament, Birla said "What you are referring to, it is not that matter as per preliminary report."
MHA orders probe
The Ministry of Home Affairs has ordered a probe into the Parliament security breach incident following a request from the Lok Sabha Secretariat, officials said.
The inquiry committee, headed by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General Anish Dayal Singh, along with members from other security agencies and experts, will find out the lapse in the security of Parliament and recommend action, an MHA spokesperson said. "On a request from the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the MHA has ordered an inquiry into the Parliament security breach incident. The inquiry committee has been set up under the chairmanship of Anish Dayal Singh, Director General, CRPF, with members from other security agencies and experts," the spokesperson said. The committee will probe the reasons for the breach in security, identify lapses, and recommend further action, he said.
"The committee will submit its report with recommendations, including suggestions on improving security in Parliament, at the earliest," the spokesperson said.
Eyewitness accounts
Members who overpowered the two persons inside the Lok Sabha chamber said, "One of them was saying I am a patriot and came here to protest." Many Lok Sabha members beat up the intruders before handing them over to security. JD(U) member Ramprit Mandal said the intruders had hidden the gas canisters in their shoes and sprayed yellow-coloured gas in the Lok Sabha chamber. Mandal, who was near the intruder, said RLP member Hanuman Beniwal and other members overpowered the person.
"One of the two was raising slogans 'Tanashahi nahi chalegi'," Mandal said. "Suddenly there was a commotion in the House. One person was seen jumping from one bench to another. It was a very tense moment, anything could have happened. I thought, what if he has a bomb or fire equipment in his pocket? It is a serious security lapse," Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Trinamool Lok Sabha leader, said.
"Two people jumped from the public gallery, there was smoke and everyone ran. They have been caught by some MPs and security personnel. One of them is Sagar. He was the guest of Mysuru member Prathap Simha," Lok Sabha member Danish Ali said. "It is a big security lapse. It is the anniversary of the Parliament attack. This is a matter for probe," said Ali.
Six-member team behind the incident
According to police officials, a six-member gang was behind Wednesday's security breach Wednesday. While four of them -- two who entered Lok Sabha and two others who protested outside the Parliament -- have been arrested, the fifth member Lalit Jha, at whose home in Gurugram the other five stayed before executing the breach, and the sixth person, who has not been named yet, are on the run.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has ordered a high-level probe into the incident as he lauded MPs, security personnel, chamber staff, and marshals for rising to the occasion and capturing the perpetrators. "The incident is a matter of concern and we are carrying out a high-level inquiry into this incident. The future course of action will be decided as per the findings of the probe," he said.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said that the two persons arrested from outside the parliament premises were not carrying any bags or identity proofs. "Preliminary investigation details in the Parliament security breach case reveal that the two people - Neelam and Amol (caught outside the Parliament building inside the premises)-were not carrying mobile phones. They were not carrying any bags or identity proofs. They claim that they reached Parliament on their own and refused association with any organisation," a police officer was quoted as saying by ANI.
Congress seeks answers, HM Shah's statement
The Congress has demanded answers from the government and a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah in both houses of Parliament on the "serious security breach" in Lok Sabha, saying does the incident "not prove that necessary precautions were not taken".
The Congress, which was demanding that the home minister comes to Rajya Sabha and makes a statement, later walked out of the upper house in protest. "INDIA parties walked out of the Rajya Sabha this afternoon on the issue of the extraordinary events in the Lok Sabha today and the refusal of the Home Minister to make a statement on the matter, especially after such a huge breach of security on the very same day Parliament was attacked 22 years ago," AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
In an apparent swipe at the prime minister, the Congress put out a post showing the picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP MP Pratap Simha saying, "Infiltration in Parliament on the pass of BJP MP Pratap Simha".
In a post on X, party president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the security breach that took place in Parliament is a very serious matter. "We demand that the Home Minister should come to both the Houses and give a statement on this. The question is, how did two people come inside such a big security department and release gas from a canister there," he said.
"Today, on Martyr's Day, we paid tribute to the brave security personnel who lost their lives in the attack on Parliament 22 years ago. We hope that the government will take this very seriously. We demand a thorough investigation into the entire incident. We always want unity and integrity of the country," he wrote.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal also demanded a thorough review of the security arrangements in Parliament. The infiltration in the Lok Sabha is extremely troubling, especially on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attacks. I am glad there was no major injury or damage done to anyone. "Parliament is among the most high-security buildings of our country. Such a major security lapse is unacceptable. We demand answers from the Home Ministry and there must be a thorough review of the security arrangements in the new Parliament building," he said in a post on X.
Also read:
- 'Parliament not safe', 'BJP leader who issued the pass should be questioned': MPs react to security breach
- Parliament security breach: I condemn the incident but my son is a good person, says father of one of the intruders
- 'Major security breach but cannot be compared with 2001 attack': Experts on intruders entering Parliament
