Parliament breach: How mastermind Lalit Jha evaded cops before surrendering

An entire 24 hours after the security breach took place at Parliament premises, the alleged mastermind of the plan, Lalit Mohan Jha, was arrested by the Delhi Police after he reportedly surrendered before the Kartavya Path Police station. Jha’s arrest caps the sensational episode, which exposed massive security lapses in supposedly one of the strongest security arrangements in the country. And just like the plot he hatched at the Parliament premises, Lalit Jha’s arrest was also quite dramatic. He has now been handed over to the Delhi Police’s Special Cell which is investigating the case and earlier in the day took remand for seven days of the other four accused held after the security breach on Wednesday. Let’s take a closer look at how Lalit Jha was arrested and his role in the Parliament breach on Wednesday. The arrest of Lalit Jha On Thursday evening, Lalit Mohan Jha, the alleged mastermind of the daring and bold breach at the Parliament, was nabbed by the authorities after he was on the run. Delhi Police said Jha came to the Kartavya Path police station on his accord, where he was arrested. An official from the Delhi Police told news agency ANI, “Jha fled from the spot after making a video of the incident. He reached Nagaur in Rajasthan by bus. There he met his two friends and spent the night in a hotel. When he realised that the police were searching for him, he came to Delhi by bus, after which he was arrested.” The police say that initial investigations have revealed that it was Jha who hatched the plan of breaching the Parliament. And on Wednesday when Manoranjan D and Sagar Sharma jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber and released yellow smoke from the gas canisters at the same when Neelam Devi and Anmol Shinde yelled slogans outside the Parliament, it was Jha who recorded their video and then sent it to Neelaksh Aich, the founder of a Kolkata-based NGO, of which Jha is a part of. In fact, the other conspirators in the plan had submitted their phones to Jha before the breach and he was able to flee with their ID cards and mobile phones. The police say that at 11.30 pm on Wednesday, he reached Kuchaman city on a bus where he met his associate, Mahesh. “He too was supposed to join the group, but couldn’t make it after his mother stopped him. Mahesh was connected with Jha and the others via a Facebook group called ‘Bhagat Singh Fan Page’.” Mahesh then took Jha, along with his cousin Kailash, to a dhaba and got a room there. “On Thursday morning, Jha with the help of Mahesh and Kailash destroyed the phone and then left for Delhi to surrender to the police. The police were able to trace Kailash’s phone number and detained him on Thursday afternoon. “He told police Jha and Mahesh had left for Jaipur on a train and would board a bus for Delhi. Police started conducting raids… Meanwhile, proper security arrangements were made near the Parliament. In the evening, police found the duo were near Dhaula Kuan… After some time, they reached Kartavya Path police station to surrender,” an officer said. [caption id=“attachment_13505642” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Lalit Mohan Jha, a teacher and believed to be the mastermind in the Parliament breach, was arrested after he surrendered to the authorities at Kartavya Path. ANI[/caption] The life of Lalit Jha Shortly after the arrest of the other accused in the Parliament breach, Lalit Jha’s name emerged during the investigations with many reporting that he was the actual mastermind of the plot. However, people who knew Jha were surprised and shocked, as they viewed him to be a reserved individual who seldom engaged with the community. Jha is a teacher by profession and a resident of Kolkata’s Barabazar area. However, he originally hails from Bihar. In fact, Rajesh Shukla, Jha’s neighbour in Barabazar told news agency PTI, “He hardly spoke to locals. He used to teach the children at his rented place. We knew that his father was a watchman in the area. They were two brothers.” Jha, according to some, was inspired by the teachings of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. Jha’s Kolkata connection has also sparked a debate in the state, with West Bengal BJP president accusing TMC MLA Tapas Roy of being in “convenience” with Jha. Majumdar shared two photographs of Roy with Jha on X. He said, “Lalit Jha, the mastermind of the attack on our Temple of Democracy, had been in close association with TMC’s Tapas Roy for a long time… Isn’t this proof enough for an investigation into the connivance of the leader?” The TMC MLA denied any knowledge of knowing Jha, saying, “We are public representatives; several people click pictures with us. We don’t know everybody in person. The BJP is now trying to shift the blame as they want to divert attention from their failures.”

Catch up on our coverage on the Parliament breach _Body scanners, glass on visitors’ gallery: Big security changes after Lok Sabha breach_ _Why did the intruders breach Parliament? Was it to protest against unemployment?_ _Recce of Parliament, 11 months of planning: How 6 accused executed security breach_ _Parliament security breach: Meet the ‘saviour’ MPs who fought intruders_

Jha and his accomplices plan breach The Delhi Police say that the accused in the Parliament breach meticulously planned and executed their plan. It was only during interrogation of the others that it was revealed that they wanted to enact revolutionary Bhagat Singh’s action of throwing bombs inside the Central Assembly during British rule in India. Moreover, they had planned to throw pamphlets in Parliament after using the smoke bombs, adding that they had also bought tricolours. [caption id=“attachment_13505662” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Neelam, one of the two persons arrested for protesting outside the Parliament during the Winter session, after being produced at the Patiala House Court, in New Delhi. She, along with her accomplices, have been remanded to police custody for seven days. PTI[/caption] Now, all six of the accused – Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde, Neelam Devi, Vishal, Lalit Jha – are in the custody of the police. And of the six, four have been remanded to seven days police custody after being charged under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA besides sections of the Indian Penal Code(IPC). During the hearing of arguments, the Delhi Police had stated that the accused had indulged in an act of terrorism. “It was a well-planned attack on Parliament,” the Delhi Police said and submitted that it has added Sections 16 and 18 of UAPA related to terrorism and conspiracy for terrorism respectively. With inputs from agencies