New Delhi: An unsuccessful police entrance and military service exam candidate, a civil service aspirant, an engineer, and three other graduates looking for jobs — these are the profiles of the six people who together planned the security breach at the Parliament complex Wednesday, ThePrint has learnt.
They are all part of a social media group called ‘Justice for Azad Bhagat Singh’.
While four of them, identified as D. Manoranjan, an engineer by degree from Mysuru; Sagar Sharma, a graduate from Lucknow; Neelam, a civil service aspirant from Hisar; and Anmol Shinde, an unsuccessful police entrance and military service exam candidate, have been arrested, two others — Lalit Jha and Vicky — are on the run, intelligence sources said.
While Manoranjan and Sharma jumped into the chamber from the public gallery Wednesday afternoon and opened canisters that emitted a yellow-coloured gas, Neelam and Anmol were nabbed outside Parliament, where they too opened a canister and raised slogans.
According to the sources, the four people had claimed during questioning that they planned the breach to “protest against unemployment and compel policymakers to acknowledge their concerns”. Police have not yet found any past criminal records of the four arrested.
The suspects also allegedly claimed during their questioning that they had connected digitally on Facebook and were part of several other protests, including one in Mohali to rename its airport as Shaheed Bhagat Singh Airport.
One of the accused, Neelam, was also part of the farmers’ protest against the now repealed farm laws and the wrestlers’ protest earlier this year, her brother has told mediapersons.
The incident comes on the anniversary of the attack on the old Parliament building 22 years ago in which eight security personnel and a gardener were killed.
All five of the terrorists who were involved in the attack were eventually gunned down.
Afzal Guru, a former Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front militant who had surrendered in 1994, was hanged in 2013 for his role in the incident.
What raises further questions about Wednesday’s security breach is that just days ago, Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun threatened to attack Parliament “on or before December 13”, following which the security was “stepped up”.
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Rented house in Gurugram, canister in shoe cavity
According to a second source, the four people arrested had rented a room in Housing Board Colony in Gurugram’s Sector 7, where they “met and planned the breach”. The source said that the accused chose 13 December to execute their plan.
“They met at a room in Gurugram where they stayed for a day. They had planned this breach well in advance. Arranged for the canister, planned on how to sneak it inside, and most importantly, arranged for the passes,” the source said.
Parliament sources had told ThePrint that the two men were given passes by Mysuru BJP MP Pratap Simha’s office. However, there has been no official confirmation from the Parliament Secretariat.
The second source also said that to take the canister inside, Manoranjan got a cavity made inside his shoe made to conceal it. “That is how he was able to take it inside bypassing all security. He can be seen removing his shoe when he opens the canister,” the source said.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)