The brain behind the Parliament security breach conspiracy case, Lalit Mohan Jha, was taken into custody by the Delhi Police on Thursday (14th December) night after he reportedly turned himself in at the Kartavya Path Police station.
According to the Delhi Police, Lalit Jha had fled from the spot after filming the incident of the smoke attack in Parliament on camera.
Sagar Sharma (26) and Manoranjan D (34) broke through security on Wednesday (13th December) afternoon during Zero Hour by jumping into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery. They shouted slogans and released colored smoke from canisters before being overpowered by some of the MPs. Approximately concurrently, Amol Shinde (25), and Neelam Singh(37), shouted slogans of “tanashahi nahi chalegi”, “Jai Bheem” and “Jai Bharat” and sprayed colored smoke from canisters outside the Parliament building.
The primary accused or the brain behind the attack has been identified as Lalit Mohan Jha who reportedly planned the smoke attack in the Parliament on the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack.
The Delhi Police after the preliminary investigation revealed that Jha had fled to Nagaur in Rajasthan by bus after the incident where he met his two friends and spent the night in a hotel. But he soon got the information that the police were searching for him after which he decided to come back to Delhi by bus.
“Lalit Jha came to the police station on his own after which the police arrested him and started an interrogation,” the Delhi Police was quoted as saying.
According to reports, Jha, a resident of Kolkata, is a teacher by profession. The Delhi Police Special Cell has contacted Neelaksh Aish, the founder of a Kolkata-based NGO, to obtain additional information about Jha. Jha is believed to be a member of the said NGO.
While a report by Hindustan Times says that Jha is a resident of Kolkata, several other reports like NDTV claim that Jha hails from Bihar but had been staying in Kolkata for his work in an NGO.
“Soon after the security breach incident, Jha recorded a video of Neelam and Amol shouting slogans and releasing yellow-colored smoke from canisters outside the Parliament building and sent it to Aish,” the police said.
Several teams from the Delhi Police Special Cell had been trying to apprehend Jha given that police suspected him of being a key conspirator. A team from the Delhi Police had already arrived in Kolkata.
Reports mention that the accused has now been booked by the Delhi Police under the anti-terror law UAPA and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. “Jha shot videos of the accused deploying smoke canisters outside the parliament and handed over the videos to an NGO founder to ensure they get media coverage,” the Police reiterated.
According to the Delhi Police, the accused persons had purchased special shoes from Lucknow and canisters from Mumbai. This was a well-planned conspiracy and attack on the Parliament of India.
Police lawyers further submitted that the accused carried a pamphlet and declared Prime Minister Modi as a missing person and said the person who found him would be paid with money from the Swiss Bank.
The accused persons showed the Prime Minister like a proclaimed offender. Police informed the court that it had registered the FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and had also added sections of stringent 16 (terrorism) and 18 (conspiracy for terrorism) of the UAPA Act.
Meanwhile, police sources on Thursday (14th December) said the four persons arrested in connection with the security breach in Parliament have taken common responsibility for the incident, adding that they were giving “rote answers” to the investigation team of the Delhi Police Special Cell in the matter.
