Recce of Parliament, 11 months of planning: How 6 accused executed security breach

On Wednesday, two individuals stormed into Lok Sabha during the Winter Session of Parliament with coloured canisters, causing panic among attending Members of Parliaments. It was later revealed that six people were involved in the breach of which five have been apprehended, and one remains at large. However, the question lingers: Can entering the highly protected building be that simple? The answer is no; this act was the result of meticulous planning, with careful attention to every detail. From arranging visitor passes to meticulously overseeing security and conducting reconnaissance, they left no stone unturned. Let’s take a closer look at how these individuals successfully breached the security measures of Parliament. Met on Facebook, carried out recce of Parliament Police sources said the Parliament security breach was a well-planned and well-coordinated incident carried out by the six people, all of whom were in contact with each other over Instagram and other social media platforms. They reportedly met on Facebook about one-and-a-half years ago and were part of a group named after Bhagat Singh. The accused devised the plan a few days ago and they carried out a recce before coming to Parliament on Wednesday, they said. “As per the plan, all six wanted to go inside Parliament but only two got passes," the source said. Two of them — Manoranjan D and Sagar Sharma — jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery and opened smoke canisters , triggering panic among the MPs, while their accomplices — Neelam Devi and Amol Shinde — sprayed coloured gas from canisters and shouted slogans outside the Parliament building. Lalit and Vishal Sharma are suspected to be their associates, police sources said. Vishal has been detained from Gurugram in Haryana while Lalit is on the run. Also Read: Who are the people behind the Lok Sabha breach? According to police sources, the four, who opened smoke canisters inside and outside Parliament, had arrived separately in the capital over the last few days, and it was Jha who allegedly drove them to his friend, Vishal Sharma alias Vicky’s house in Gurugram. They all stayed at the rented house of Vishal Sharma and his wife Rakhi in Gurugram’s Sector 7, and it was Manoranjan who made arrangements with the personal staff of his local MP Pratap Simha to arrange a visitor’s pass. According to officials, the suspects began preparing the security breach in January, and Manoranjan even conducted a recce while visiting the Parliament complex during the Monsoon Session. ‘Unhappy with the government’ After the incident, they were taken to the Parliament Street police station and questioned by officers from Intelligence agencies as well as Delhi Police. During questioning, they said that they were unhappy with the current government’s working style and intended to send a message to the country about Manipur, the farmers’ protest, and inflation. They also said that they wanted to send a message just like their idol, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, and decided to go to Parliament, according to a report in Indian Express. [caption id=“attachment_13501922” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] During questioning, they said that they were unhappy with the current government’s working style and intended to send a message to the country about Manipur, the farmers’ protest, and inflation. PTI[/caption] Interrogations revealed that the six accused had known each other for the past four years through social media. Around 15-16 hours before breaching Parliament security, Vishal posted on Instagram, “Jeete ya hare, par koshish toh zaroori hai.” Safar kitna haseen hoga, ab dekhna yeh hai… It is more important to try than to win. Now we must observe how lovely the journey is… I hope to see you again)." Neelam Devi’s online profile includes photos of her attending political rallies as well as images of Bhagat Singh and B R Ambedkar. She also tweeted photos of herself sitting with farmers at Jantar Mantar during the 2020-21 farmer protest. Photos and words from Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad, Bagha Jatin, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Raja Ram Mohan Roy can be seen on Jha’s Instagram account. ‘Hang my son if he has done wrong’ Manoranjan D, hailing from Mysuru in Karnataka, completed his BE (Bachelor in Engineering) in 2016 and was looking after the family farm. He also worked in some firms in Delhi and Bengaluru, his family said. He got the authorisation pass to enter Lok Sabha from the office of BJP MP Pratap Simha and introduced Sagar Sharma, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, as a friend. His father Devaraje Gowda, however, claimed that his son was honest and truthful and always desired to do good for society. Also Read: Lok Sabha sees major security breach: How Parliament is protected from threats “Hang my son if he has done wrong. That Parliament is ours. People like you all have built it. Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, and Nehru had toiled to build it. Whoever does it (attack) is condemnable. We will not accept it,” Gowda told reporters in Mysuru. “My son is a good boy. He is honest and truthful. His only desire is to do good for the society and sacrifice for the society,” he added. An e-rickshaw driver Sagar Sharma (28) left his house in Lucknow’s Ramnagar a few days ago to attend a “protest” in Delhi. However, his family said they were unaware of his involvement in the Parliament security breach. “I heard my brother telling my mother that he was going to Delhi to attend a protest a few days ago,” said Sagar Sharma’s minor sister. “My brother drove an e-rickshaw and earlier used to work in Bengaluru,” the sister added. According to police, Sagar Sharma, along with his sister and parents, lived in a rented house in the Ramnagar area and his father Roshan Lal is a carpenter. Twenty-five-year-old Shinde had left his village in Maharashtra’s Latur district, saying he was going to Delhi to take part in an army recruitment drive, police said. Shinde, along with Neelam of Haryana, shouted: “Tanashahi Nahi Chalegi” (dictatorship will not be allowed), “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Jai Bheem, Jai Bharat” outside Parliament. [caption id=“attachment_13501932” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Police personnel apprehend a man carrying a can emitting yellowish smoke while he was protesting outside the Parliament premises, during the Winter session, in New Delhi. PTI[/caption] After the incident in Delhi, a team of Latur police visited Shinde’s house in Zari village. Shinde belongs to a Scheduled Caste community and is a BA graduate. He did odd jobs as a daily wager while preparing for police and army recruitment exams, police said. His parents told police that Shinde left home on 9 December saying he was going to Delhi for an army recruitment drive, police said. Neelam hails from educated background Family members of Neelam said she had earlier participated in several agitations including the farmers’ movement. Neelam’s mother Saraswati Devi told reporters at her house in Ghaso Khurd village in Jind that she came to know about the incident through the media. Neelam (35) was staying in a PG accommodation in Hisar for the last five months where she was preparing for competitive examinations, her brother Ram Niwas said. “I got a call from my elder brother to switch on the TV immediately. He told me that Neelam was arrested in Delhi,” Niwas told PTI. According to Niwas, she actively participated in farmers’ protests. He said that his sister, who has cleared the National Eligibility Test (NET), had visited the village two days ago, but she did not talk about the Parliament protest. Neelam’s family members claimed that she has also done Masters, MEd and MPhil. “Her certificate of Haryana Teachers Eligibility Test had expired. I asked her to go to Hisar and get coaching for the same,” said Niwas, who does livestock farming. A villager at Ghaso Khurd said Neelam had once gone with some villagers to Khatkar Toll Plaza during the farmers’ protest against now-repealed farm laws. Neelam has three sisters and two brothers. His father Kohar Singh works as a ‘halwai’ (confectioner) in Uchana Mandi, the villager said. An official said Vishal Sharma earlier worked as a driver in an export company but of late he drove an autorickshaw. His neighbours claimed that he was a drunkard and often quarrelled with his wife. Sagar Sharma visited Vishal Sharma’s house often and they were in contact for a long time. Vishal Sharma has a criminal background, official sources said. “Vishal and Neelam are natives of Hisar district,” the official said. With inputs from PTI