India Parliament security breach: All 6 suspects knew each other, stayed in Gurugram together

As many as six people are said to have been involved in the Indian Parliament security breach, multiple reports have claimed. The two men who caused the commotion inside the well of the lower house (Lok Sabha), two outside the parliament near Transport Bhavan and two others who are currently on the run but supposedly gave shelter to the remaining and hatched the plan. 

Sagar Sharma, son of Shankarlal Sharma and Manoranjan D., a resident of Mysore, Karnataka have been identified as the main perpetrators who scaled the public gallery fence and jumped amongst the lawmakers before unleashing the yellow smoke canisters. 

Sharma was the first to jump before 35-year-old Manoranjan joined him and caused chaos. According to initial police version and witnesses, they had hidden the canisters in their shoes. 

The duo was heard chanting slogans stating, ‘tanashahi nahi chalegi’ (dictatorship won’t be accepted). Notably, Manoranjan is an engineering graduate having pursued his bachelor’s in computer science from Vivekanand University in Bengaluru.

They both were issued the visitor pass in the name of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker from southern India’s Mysuru constituency Pratap Simha. 

Apart from the parliament, two protesters, a man and a woman were also detained by the police in front of Transport Bhawan where they were protesting using coloured smoke. 

According to Delhi Police, the woman has been identified as Neelam, hailing from Hisar, Haryana while the man is one Amol Shinde, a resident of the Latur district in the western state of Maharashtra.

Neelam was staying at a PG in Hisar and preparing for the harayana civil services exam. Some unsubstantiated reports have claimed that she was also involved in the farmer’s protest. 

They all arrived in the capital city after staying together in Gurugram at the residence of a person identified as Lalit Jha. The sixth person remains unidentified and is currently on the run.  

The security around the parliament complex had been heightened as the session started last week. Moreover, threats from Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu of attacking the parliament had already put security forces on high alert. Yet the group managed to infiltrate one of the safest institutions in the country.    

(With inputs from agencies)