Parliament security breach: Meet the ‘saviour’ MPs who fought intruders

The entire country was shocked on Wednesday after two men jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors’ gallery during Zero Hour and released yellow gas from canisters. Intially, many people termed it an act of terror, since the incident coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, which killed nine people. If a group of Lok Sabha MPs, including Hanuman Beniwal, Malook Nagar, and Gurjeet Singh Aujla, hadn’t overpowered the two intruders, yesterday’s security breach might have been more severe. The three MPs were later hailed by their fellow members as “saviours of the day,” with some even taking selfies with them. How the three MPs became “saviours of the day” “Herogiri unki utar di, which means “taught them a lesson,” Lok Sabha MP Hanuman Beniwal told reporters outside the Parliament soon after he pinned down one of the two intruders.   “Several MPs were present in the House during Zero Hour, when two people jumped down from the visitors’ gallery. They had kept bomb-like things inside their shoes. When we caught them, they released the gas which created fear among several MPs,” the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) chief said, adding that he overpowered the first intruder who tried reaching the Speaker’s chair. While speaking to India Today later in the day, he alleged that the intruders were “trained” and they were definitely “backed” by some forces.

He told News18 that there were a total of four intruders, two of whom jumped into the chamber, and another man and woman who were sitting in the public gallery. “The two protesters were raising slogans like ‘tanashahi band karo (stop dictatorship)…’ They have given a big message. The government should pay attention,” he added. Speaking to reporters, Congress MP from Amritsar Aujla said, “I had just finished raising an issue when two people jumped into the House chamber. One of them was moving towards the Chair when Hanuman Beniwal caught him. When we rushed to catch the second person, I saw he had something in his hand which he started waving. We snatched it from him and threw it out for the safety of the members as it was releasing a gas.” “In that moment, it was a bomb for me. It was my natural reaction. A Punjabi never runs away from danger, he runs towards it. I just wanted to stop them anyway. I am grateful to tr almighty that he gave me the courage to confront the attackers. We all heaved a sigh of relief when we found out that these were not bombs,” he told Indian Express. Recalling the incident, BSP MP Malook Nagar told reporters, “Zero Hour proceeding was on. Then a loud sound came from behind as if someone fell down. Then we saw a person had jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors’ gallery while another was hanging. Then from one side Hanuman Beniwal swung into action and caught one of the two people, while I and other MPs got hold of the other person rushing from the other side.” Also read: Lok Sabha breach: Who is Pratap Simha, the BJP MP who issued visitors pass to intruders? About the three MPs According to Indian Express, before entering politics, Beniwal was a student union president at Rajasthan University in the 1990s. He contested Rajasthan assembly elections with a BJP ticket in 2008 and won from the Khinvsar constituency in the Jat-dominated Nagaur. He left the saffron party in 2013 and won from the same seat as an independent candidate. He launched his own party Rashtriya Loktantrik Party in 2018, which won three seats in its first assembly polls in 2018. Prior to 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Beniwal joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and was elected as the MP from Nagaur constituency. Soon after the farmers’ protests in 2020, the RLP, which calls itself a party for jawans and kisans, started distancing itself from the BJP. [caption id=“attachment_13501942” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A visitor jumps in the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during the Winter session of Parliament, in New Delhi. PTI[/caption] As per another report by the newspaper, Amritsar Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla entered Parliament after contesting in by-polls in 2017 after Captain Amarinder Singh resigned from the Lok Sabha to contest the Punjab assembly polls. In 2019 elections, the Congress leader, without any support of any big leader, retained the same Amritsar Lok Sabha seat after defeating heavyweight union minister Hardeep Singh Puri in the Modi-government wave. Malook Nagar is a BSP MP from Bijnor. He contested Meerut and Bijnor constituencies in 2009 and 2014 respectively but failed to secure his seat. The former businessman made headlines in October 2020 when income tax department carried out raids against his companies engaged in real estate and their associates. “A major security breach” The incident has raised serious questions about the security level at the new Parliament , especially since it occurred on the same day after 22 years of the terror attack on the old Parliament building. A few hours earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu led a tribute to the nine people who were killed during the Laishkar-e-Taiba attack. [caption id=“attachment_13502092” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The four men arrested in connection with the security breach in Parliament on Wednesday have been charged under UAPA. File Photo.[/caption] Beniwal called it a major security lapse and further demanded a through probe into the incident. While speaking to News18, he said, “This is a big lapse. So much money has been spent on the new Parliament and we are not secure here. 22 years ago, there was a Parliament attack and these people chose the same day for this attack – there seems to be a conspiracy. Did they come in on a BJP MP recommendation – there will be an inquiry and there should be tough action.” BJP MP Rajendra Agrawal, who he initially thought a person had fallen from the visitors’ gallery but soon realised it was deliberate, told the news channel, “In one minute it was over. MPs acted very quickly and caught him. A probe should be done on the lapses. Security changes should be made. It is a serious lapse. They hid the canisters in their shoes…so frisking should be changed by the security officials with more precautions." Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said that the Parliament security officials were not quick to act and it was the MPs who caught the intruders before other counterparts overpowered them. “These intruders were shouting slogans…we thought they were taking out weapons from their shoes. It was some yellow gas and it was a serious lapse in security. The government must explain how these people could get inside. It seems there is no security as more than one person could get inside,” Dastidar told News18. Also read: Who are the people behind the Lok Sabha breach? Charges against accused  The two men who barged into the House are identified as Manoranjan D and Sagar Sharma. According to News18 which quoted its police sources, Manoranjan is the mastermind behind the security breach in the Parliament and he persuaded others to join his cause. Manoranjan’s style reportedly is similar to Naxalites. [caption id=“attachment_13501882” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A police personnel apprehends a woman carrying a can emitting yellowish smoke while she was protesting outside the Parliament premises, during the Winter session, in New Delhi. PTI[/caption] Neelam Devi and Anmol Shinde. who protested outside the Parliament carrying red and yellow canisters, were also arrested. A Special Cell source revealed the accused reportedly met in Chandigarh during a protest on the Bhagat Singh Airport issue. Since then, they often met at fourth accused Vishal’s house in Gurugram. He along with his wife Vrinda Sharma have also been arrested. The intendion behind the breach was raising the issue of unemployment, farmers’ demands, Agniveer and One Rank One Pension, reported News18.a The accused have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), besides various sections of the Indian Penal Code. They will be produced in Delhi’s Patiala House Court later today. According to the UAPA law invoked, the police can seek a maximum of 30 days of police remand for the accused men. Since UAPA has been invoked, the police will also get a total of 90 days to file the chargesheet against the accused. The Delhi Police Special Cell will also investigate various aspects including the educational background of the five accused, their involvement in past activities including any protests or rallies and whether they visited Parliament before yesterday’s incident. A case under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 452 (trespassing), Section 153 (want only giving provocation with an intent to cause riot), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servants from discharge of his duty) of IPC and 16 &18 sections of UAPA has been registered at the Parliament Street police station.