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Two men walked through three layers of security with smoke canisters stuffed in their shoes, vaulted into the Lok Sabha from the visitors’ gallery, and sprayed smoke inside the hallowed chambers in a daring breach of security that triggered nationwide alarm and brought back memories of the 2001 terror strike on the highest seat of Indian democracy.
The two men – Sagar Sharma, 27, and Manoranjan D, 34– shouted slogans and released yellow smoke before being overpowered by parliamentarians and dragged away by security staff. The chamber reconvened within 45 minutes but the brazen incursion on the anniversary of the 2001 attack sparked troubling questions about laxity in security protocols and glaring gaps in lessons learnt from the strike that killed 13 people.
“The incident that happened today is a topic of concern for all of us and is serious as well… A high-level investigation is being done and accordingly, action will be taken,” said Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla. The Union home ministry ordered a probe headed by the Central Reserve Police Force chief Anish Dayal Singh.
Sharma and Manoranjan gained access to the visitors’ gallery using guest passes signed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Pratap Simha, according to a preliminary investigation. Outside Parliament, two other people – Neelam Singh, 37, and Amol Shinde, 24 – shouted slogans such as “Tanashahi nahi chalegi (no to dictatorship)”, “Bharat Mata ki jai” and “Jai Bhim”. They were later detained by the police.
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These four people – an e-rickshaw driver, a farmer, a government job aspirant, and a daily wage labourer – along with a fifth conspirator identified as Lalit Jha, hatched a plan for the first such attack on Parliament to air their grievances about the government, unemployment and price rise, said police.
“She was worried about unemployment…She used to tell me that she is so highly qualified but has no job, so it is better to die…” said Singh’s mother Saraswati Devi.
The massive breach – which came hours after parliamentarians had paid homage to the nine people slain in the 2001 attack – prompted Birla to call an urgent all-party meeting and House secretary general Utpal Kumar Singh to shoot off a letter to the home ministry seeking a detailed security review. This will be the second such exercise in 22 years. Meanwhile, protocol is being tightened for lawmakers and officials. A bar has been put on visitors with immediate effect for the time being and the main gate of the new parliament building will be sanitised.
At the all-party meeting, the Opposition pushed the government for a detailed statement on the issue. “It is a very serious matter. We demand that the home minister should come to both the Houses and give a statement on this. The question is, how did two people come inside and release gas,” said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
They also raised concerns about Sharma and Manoranjan managing to pass through three layers of checks — the outer gate of Parliament complex, the visitors’ gate of the new building, and the final round of frisking near the gallery – with plastic canisters. The two men overstayed their allotted one-hour slot before leaping into the House, all without getting noticed. Though their action was provocative but ultimately harmless, questions also swirled about their motive and meticulous planning.
Read Here: MHA orders probe into Lok Sabha security breach
At least four members – Hanuman Beniwal of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, Malook Nagar and Ram Shiromani Verma of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Gurjeet Singh Aujla of the Congress – caught hold of one of the intruders who leapt over the seats. The other intruder, who hurt himself while landing on the Lok Sabha floor, stood near a corner. He, too, was nabbed quickly.
No agency had classified the incursion as a terror attack at the time of filing this report.
At 1.01pm, when Khagen Murmu, the BJP member from West Bengal was speaking during Zero Hour, the two intruders jumped from public gallery number 4, which is right across the Speaker’s table. One of the attackers hurt himself and stood at a corner. The other one landed near BJP MP Dilip Saikia, who later said that initially it looked like an accident but the MPs were alarmed when the attacker pulled out a canister and started spraying.
Rajendra Agrawal, who was in the chair, and other MPs took a few seconds even as the intruder started spraying unidentified yellow smoke in the air.
“Two people jumped from the public gallery. They were hanging on the pillar on the front and then jumped, one by one. One came in the middle and took his shoes off. He was figuring out where to run but the MPs surrounded him. We caught the second guy also,” said Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant.
“Suddenly after that, gas started coming out…It was a yellow-coloured gas, and there was a bit of a burning sensation in my nose…no MP was injured,” added Sawant.
Beniwal said the intruders removed their shoes when the lawmakers surrounded them. “We stopped them and restrained them, and when they were picking him up, he removed his shoes and took out the canister. Even the second one released gas and this caused chaos,” he said.
At the time, there were several Union ministers including defence minister Rajnath Singh and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, present in the House.
When the House resumed at 2pm, Birla said that initial investigation showed the sprayed chemical appeared “normal” but “spread a sensation” .
Congress floor leader Adhir Chowdhury drew a parallel between the 2001 terror attack and Wednesday’s incursion. “While the nature of the attacks are totally different, I want to ask how did such an incident happen? Does it show that we should have applied more caution? In the old building, our unarmed security personnel managed to save Parliament from the attack..”
Trinamool Congress floor leader Sudip Bandopadhyay highlighted key security issues. “We should be more cautious. At the entry gate (Makar Dwar), hundreds of people gather, and when we, the MPs, enter the building, it becomes very difficult for us to enter. People stay at the gate from 11am to 6pm, taking photographs and selfies, and nobody can guess who is an MP and who is not an MP.”
At 4pm, floor leaders of various parties met the speaker in his chamber and flagged security concerns. Top officials said that soon after the incident, visitors’ entry was temporarily suspended and it will not be lifted soon. The speaker also asked for a detailed report from the Parliament Security Service and Delhi Police. There were proposals to erect glass barriers in front of the galleries and restrict the movement of visitors. It was also decided that no one will be allowed to mill about in the square in front of Makar dwar, which is used exclusively by MPs.
Simha was questioned by both the BJP and the Speaker’s office seeking details of his recommendation for the two visitors. A person aware of the details said Simha’s office was approached by the individuals who said they were keen to see the new Parliament. “As is the process, his office sent the request, following the protocol to parliamentary security service. They were issued passes based on that. Checking the antecedents of the visitors is not the responsibility of the MP,” the person said, adding that the politician was ready to answer and assist in the inquiry.
Opposition parties are planning to meet President Droupadi Murmu to raise the breach, demand a discussion on the issue and seek a reply from home minister Amit Shah.
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