New Delhi: In a major security breach at the new Parliament building, two people jumped from the visitors gallery onto the members’ benches of the Lok Sabha during zero hour Wednesday.
The incident comes on the anniversary of the 13 December attack on the old Parliament building 22 years ago, which had killed eight security personnel and a gardener. All five terrorists were also killed. Former Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front militant who had surrendered in 1994, Afzal Guru was hanged in 2013 for his role in the incident.
According to MPs present, the two hurled “gas-emitting” canisters, before being overpowered and handed over to Parliament security.
When the Lok Sabha convened in the afternoon, Speaker Om Birla informed the House that a preliminary inquiry had found that the smoke from the canisters was “ordinary, only for spreading sensationalism.”
“There is nothing to worry, the two men have been caught and all their stuff seized. The security officials are conducting further inquiry in the matter. I will place before the House the final investigation result,” Birla said.
Parliament sources told ThePrint that the two men were given passes by Mysuru BJP MP Pratap Simha’s office. However, there has been no official confirmation on this from the Parliament Secretariat.
Parliament security is handled by the Parliament Security Service of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. While the director (Security) Rajya Sabha exercises operational control over the Parliament Security Service, Rajya Sabha, the additional secretary (Security) of Lok Sabha Secretariat is the overall in-charge of the entire Parliament security, including Parliament Security Service of Secretariats, Delhi Police, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Meanwhile, two others — identified by police as Neelam and Amol Shinde — were detained Wednesday for protesting outside Transport Bhawan with coloured smoke. DCP (New Delhi) Pranav Tayal said, “Neelam d/o [daughter of] Kaur Singh r/o [resident of] Red Square Market, Hisaar, Age 42 and Amol Shinde s/o [son of] Dhanraj Shinde r/o Latur, Maharashtra, age 25 years, have been detained”.
Police sources told the Print that all four — Neelam and Amol Shinde and the two detained in Parliament — will be jointly interrogated by Delhi Police and the Intelligence Bureau in the security breach incident.
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‘Precautions for making visitor’s passes’
Wednesday’s security breach at the Lok Sabha took place as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Khagen Murmu was reading to the house.
“There is a loophole for sure. When the first person came down, we thought he might have fallen, but when the second person started coming down, all of us became cautious. The person tried to open his shoes and took something out after which smoke came out. Action will be taken against this. The Speaker and responsible people will make the decision on this. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also reached the House when all of this happened,” said BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal, who was presiding over the Chair of Speaker at the time.
Soon after the House convened in the afternoon, Opposition members, including Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Trinamool Congress’s Sudeep Bandyopadhyay, got up to speak about the security breach earlier.
“It was our MPs who caught the two intruders. Our Parliament security that managed to protect the Parliament against the attack in 2001… they were nihatta [without any arms]. But where were they today?” asked Chowdhury
Bandyopadhyay added: “We should be more cautious. At the entry gates, hundreds of people gather with MPs… It becomes very difficult, people are taking photographs, selfies. Nobody can guess who is MP or otherwise. Today’s incident is serious….”.
Pacifying the MPs, Birla said, “I understand the concern of members of both treasury and Opposition benches. In an hour or two, we will meet… I will call all members and
discuss what precautions we need to keep while making visitor passes, what security protocol needs to be followed.”
He added: “We have come here in service of the nation. In adverse circumstances also Parliament has functioned. Today also it’s functioning.”
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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