Parliament Security Breach: Burnt Phone Parts Of Accused Recovered From Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the Delhi Police officials on Sunday recovered the parts of mobile phones destroyed by Lalit Jha, the main accused in the Parliament security breach case, from Rajasthan. According to Delhi police sources, all the phones were found in burnt condition. Lalit Jha, the mastermind of the Lok Sabha security breach incident, had destroyed the phones of all the accused. Delhi Police is, however, yet to recover Lalit Jha's phone. Before the security breach, the four accused had handed over their phones to Jha to prevent crucial investigation details from reaching the police, anticipating their arrest.

Interestingly, the recovery of burnt mobile phone parts was made a day after another arrest was made in the case. It may be noted that Delhi Police on Saturday arrested Mahesh Kumawat from Rajasthan's Nagaur. He was allegedly in touch with the other accused over the last two years and helped them destroy their mobile phones to erase all evidence.  

Parliament Security Breach | According to the Police, phone parts of all the accused have been recovered from Rajasthan. All the phones were found in burnt condition. Lalit Jha had the phones of all the accused: Delhi Police Sources pic.twitter.com/8i08wkLc0N

— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2023

Special Judge Hardeep Kaur sent 32-year-old Kumawat to the custody of the Delhi Police after the public prosecutor informed the court that the accused "wanted to create anarchy in the country so that they could compel the government to meet their unjust and illegal demands". With a total of six arrests, investigations are delving into the connections between the accused. Investigation into the case has revealed that the accused hailed from varied backgrounds from across different states - Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

'Parliament Security Breach A Serious Incident': PM Modi 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reacted to the alarming security breach at the Parliament recently, calling it a "serious" matter. The Prime Minister also reportedly urged political parties to refrain from politicising the issue as it is a matter of national security. PM Modi made these remarks in an interview with a leading newspaper during which he also called for a thorough probe into the incident. 

The Prime Minister said that ''we should go into the depth of this accident and find a solution so that it cannot happen again.'' "After this incident, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has ordered an investigation and we all are confident that the conspiracy will be exposed," the PM reportedly said. It is important to know what were the intentions of the accused behind this incident and which elements were active behind it, he added.

Earlier, PM Modi had directed senior ministers to treat the security breach in Lok Sabha with utmost seriousness. In a meeting held on Thursday, he cautioned against engaging in political manoeuvring and urged collective precautionary measures. It may be noted that the government has already constituted a panel to probe possible lapses that allowed two men to infiltrate the Lok Sabha and disrupt proceedings.

Parliament Security Breach: How It Happened

The breach occurred on Wednesday when two intruders infiltrated the Lok Sabha, throwing colour-smoke bombs from the visitors' gallery into the MPs' sitting area. Following the incident, the Opposition launched a massive protest, demanding the suspension of BJP MP Pratap Simha, accused of issuing passes to the intruders.

Opposition Demands Suspension Of Lok Sabha Proceedings 

On Thursday, the Opposition called for the suspension of Lok Sabha proceedings and a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Questions were raised, but the government has not yet addressed the issue in the House. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has initiated a high-level probe led by CRPF DG.

Lok Sabha Speaker Writes To MPs

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla wrote a letter to all Members of Parliament, asserting that there is no connection between the security breach and the recent suspension of 13 MPs from the Lower House. A total of 13 MPs were suspended from Parliament on Thursday "for creating a ruckus" in the House over their demand for a statement on the breach. Among the 13 MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha, nine are from the Congress, two from the CPM, one from the CPI, and one from the DMK.

Speaker Birla, in his letter, said that it is "unfortunate" that some members and political parties are linking the decision of the House to suspend some members to the Parliament security lapse incident.
"This is unwarranted. There is no association between the suspension of honourable members and the incident which took place on December 13, 2023. The suspension of honourable members is purely to uphold the sanctity of the house", the letter read.

Delhi Police Intensifies Probe 

Despite continuous questioning, the police have yet to ascertain the motive behind the security breach. Mastermind Lalit Jha, along with Neelam, Amol, Sagar Sharma, and Manoranjan D, remains in police custody. The authorities are meticulously reviewing contradictions in statements and trying to extract call details to establish their movements leading up to the incident.

In light of the breach, the Special Cell of Delhi Police earlier said that it plans to recreate the scene, pending approval from the Speaker of Parliament. The Delhi Police on Saturday informed the Patiala House Court that the Parliament Security breach conspiracy had been going on since more than last year, and freshly arrested accused Mahesh attended all the meetings held in different cities in this regard.

Additionally, there are reports of recording MP Pratap Simha's statement regarding the passes issued to the infiltrators.

The security breach happened on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack. Two people -Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D - jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and shouted anti-establishment slogans before being overpowered by the MPs.

Outside it, in another incident, two other protestors - Neelam (42) and Amol (25) - protested outside the Parliament with similar gas canisters. However, all four were arrested and sent to seven-day custody of Delhi Police Special Cell on Thursday. Lalit Jha, who allegedly planned the incident, and Mahesh Kumawat were arrested later.