New Delhi: On the 22nd anniversary of the terror attack on Parliament, a major breach of security was witnessed again in the Temple of Democracy on Wednesday when two men jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the Visitors’ Gallery above and caused smoke, leading to chaos and commotion in the House where proceedings were underway.
The men, who were identified as Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan, lunged into the Lower House of Parliament, chanting something, around 1-30 pm, when the Zero Hour was in progress.
Sagar, who was the first to jump, then moved from the rear of the chamber towards the chair in the front, climbing the chairs and tables of the MPs.
The intruders were immediately overpowered and thrashed by some MPs before being handed over to the Delhi Police, which arrested them.
Two others – a 42 year old woman Neelam and a 25-year old male Amol were also arrested for allegedly protesting in front of Transport Bhavan with smoke canisters. Neelam resides in Hariyana’s Hisar, while Amaol is from Maharashtra’s Latur.
According to a UNI report from Lucknow Sharma is a resident of Ramnagar locality in the Alambagh area in the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. According to his family, he is an e-rickshaw driver.
“His sister has revealed that Sagar was working as an e-rickshaw driver for the last three months. She revealed that before that he lived and worked in Bengaluru,” said an officer.
Sharma had a visitor pass to Parliament which was issued by Mysuru BJP MP Pratap Simha, sources said here.
Taking the security breach incident seriously, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla ordered a thorough probe.
He praised the security staff, and MPs who caught the intruders after they jumped from the Visitor’s Gallery into the chamber.
The Speaker called an all-party meeting at 4 PM to discuss the issue and said the matter has also been referred to the Delhi police for investigation.
He added that preliminary investigation suggests that the gas emitted from a canister used by the persons was to create sensation and was “harmless” and “not a cause of worry”.
When the House resumed after 2 pm, Birla said the incident that happened “is a topic of concern for all of us & is serious as well…A high-level investigation is being done & accordingly, action will be taken”.
“A comprehensive review will be done regarding the security in the house… The house was adjourned till 11:00 hours tomorrow”, he said.
Delhi Police said all four arrestees were being grilled to ascertain their motive behind the protest and why they chose to hold it in and outside parliament. A massive manhunt has been launched to trace some more people said to be involved with the incident.
Forensic teams have reached the spot to collect samples of evidence for further probe into the security breach incident.
According to sources, the Delhi Police Special Cell and Crime branch, and Central probe agencies are investigating the matter.
Replying to the queries of media persons, an NDRF official said “Our technical team is working on this issue and investigating the exact nature of the yellow smoke”.
Reacting to the incident, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the security breach that took place in Parliament is a very serious matter. “We demand that the Home Minister Amit Shah should come to both the Houses and give a statement on this,” Kharge said.
Kharge wrote on X, “The question is, how did two people come inside such a big security department and release gas from a canister there?… We hope that the government will take this very seriously and we demand a thorough investigation into the entire incident.”
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, the Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said, “This is certainly a security breach because today we observed the death anniversary of people who sacrificed their lives in 2001.”
Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dimple Yadav also raised concerns and said, “All those who come here, be it visitors or reporters, 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.”
Demanding an urgent investigation into the security breach in Parliament, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the security of the temple of democracy cannot be compromised.
“Today’s breach in Parliament, on the solemn anniversary of 2001 attack, is an affront to our democratic values… An urgent investigation is vital to uncover who were the attackers, how did they get in, what were their motive. Action must be swift and strict.” UNI
