Parliament Attacks

A year after a security breach in Parliament, sources in the Delhi Police said they have submitted clinching evidence and made a watertight case against the six accused. The security breach happened on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack on December 13, 2023 and the accused have been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The trial in the case is yet to start as the Delhi Police's probe is underway. But officials claim that they have sufficient evidence against the perpetrators, who were led by Karnataka resident Manoranjan D. The accused had launched a coordinated gas attack by opening colourful canisters in both inside and outside the Parliament house during the Zero Hour. Manoranjan, along with Sagar Sharma, jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery and opened the canisters that released a yellow gas in the House. Two others -- Amol Shinde and Neelam Azad -- sprayed coloured gases from canisters outside the Parliament .

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The court has directed the Delhi police to supply hard copies of the charge sheet to the accused persons within a week

During a live Lok Sabha session on 13 December 2023, six people were arrested for breaching security with smoke canisters to protest against unemployment and price rises

The attack took place on December 13, when the House proceedings were on

Three labourers trying to enter the high-security Parliament complex by allegedly using "forged" Aadhaar cards were apprehended by the CISF personnel, official sources said on Thursday. The Delhi Police has arrested the three persons identified as Kasim, Monis and Soyeb and has charged them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code related to forgery and cheating. Sources told PTI said the trio were intercepted and detained by CISF personnel at the flap gate entry of the Parliament House on Tuesday when they had lined up for security and identity card checks. The three were trying to gain entry into the Parliament complex by showing their Aadhaar cards. The CISF personnel found the cards to be doubtful and on further scrutiny found that those were forged, the sources said. The CISF has recently taken over the entire security of the Parliament complex by replacing the CRPF and Delhi Police contingents. Officials said the three persons were hired by a company called Dee Vee ..

The Congress on Thursday alleged that a "conspiracy" was being hatched by the government to pressure those arrested in the Parliament security breach case to take the names of opposition leaders so that they can be held responsible for the security lapse. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh's attack on the government came a day after five of the six people arrested in the Parliament security breach case told a court here that they were allegedly being tortured by the Delhi Police to accept their association with opposition parties. In a post in Hindi on X, Ramesh said, "To make false allegations against the opposition to hide his crime is the way of 'Ahankaracharya'!" The Modi government, which has put opposition leaders in jail by misusing the ED, CBI and IT department is now hatching another conspiracy, he claimed. "Firstly, no action was taken against the BJP MP who gave passes to the youth who intruded in Parliament and 146 opposition MPs who were raising their voices over

A day after the five accused in the Parliament security breach were brought back to Delhi following their polygraph, narco-analysis and brain mapping tests, a police source claimed that Manoranjan D was the mastermind behind the incident. Earlier, the police had said that Lalit Jha was the mastermind behind the December 13 incident. All six accused -- Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D, Amol Shinde, Neelam Azad, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat -- were presented before the Patiala House court on Saturday which sent them to judicial custody, police officials said. According to police sources, except for Neelam, the other five accused were taken to Gujarat for a polygraph test on December 8. Sagar and Manoranjan have also undergone additional naro-analysis and brain mapping tests. Neelam had not given consent to undergo the tests before the court. So far investigations and interrogations have revealed that the accused had planned to send a message to the government. The accused have revealed tha

Delhi Police suspects that Manoranjan D was the key mastermind of the conspiracy. It was on his request that Sagar Sharma breached Parliament security with him

Investigators suspect external funding and a potential handler's involvement. All six face charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition by Neelam Azad, an accused arrested in the December 13 Parliament security breach case, seeking her release on ground that her police remand was illegal. A bench headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait said the petition was not maintainable. "Petitioner has already moved bail application before the trial court.Present petition is not maintainable and is dismissed accordingly," the bench, also comprising Justice Manoj Jain said. Azad's lawyer argued that the police custody was in violation of the provisions of the Constitution as she was not allowed to consult a legal practitioner of her choice to defend her during the trial court proceedings. During the hearing, the high court said no such grounds of violation of her fundamental rights was made out. In her petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus directing her production before the high court as well as an order to "set her at liberty", Azad said not allowing her to consult a lawy

Neelam Azad, through Lawyer Advocate Suresh Kumar, alleged that her arrest was illegal and in contravention of Article 22(1) of the Consitution

The Delhi Police Special Cell took the Parliament security breach accused to places where they assembled and the shop from where they bought flags before the security breach on December 13, police sources said. According to sources, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D, who had entered the parliament, were on Wednesday taken to Sadar Bazar where they bought Indian flags and India Gate where they assembled before entering the Parliament. The accused had distributed the flags and smoke canisters at India Gate before the parliament, a source said. The two were also taken to the Maharani Bagh area in New Friends colony where they had held a meeting to discuss their plan, the person said. An official privy to the investigation said that the accused were being taken to these places to establish the sequence of events that culminated with the Parliament security breach. The Delhi Police has arrested six people - Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D, Neelam, Amol Shinde, Lalit Jha, and Mahesh Kumawat for

With the end of another year, we take a look at the biggest headlines and stories from Indian politics that defined 2023

Earlier, on December 23, in a letter to Kharge, Dhankhar said the disruptions during the winter session of Parliament which led to the suspension of 146 MPs were 'deliberate and strategised'

Union minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday dubbed the opposition INDIA bloc as a set of leaders facing corruption charges with no common ideology or a political programme. Thakur, speaking to reporters here, also said the opposition coalition disrupted the Winter session of Parliament that concluded on Thursday out of frustration of their defeat in the recently held assembly elections. The senior BJP leader's remarks came a day after the INDIA alliance held nationwide demonstrations against the suspension of 146 MPs during the Winter session for unruly behaviour in demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the Parliament security breach on December 13. "Where is the alliance? They are struggling in Punjab, they are struggling in other states. They can't speak in one voice. They are a set of people facing corruption charges and have come together," Thakur, the Information and Broadcasting Minister, said. "They do not have a common ideology, they do not have a common minimu

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The Patiala House Court of Delhi on Friday extended the custodial remand of accused Lalit Jha by a further 14 days in the Parliament security breach case

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, participating in the protest, said that the protest is send a message among people that whatever is happening is 'wrong for the future of the country'

The Delhi High Court on Friday agreed to list for hearing during the day a plea by the city police challenging a trial court order directing it to supply a copy of the FIR to an accused in the Parliament security breach case. The matter was mentioned for hearing before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna by the counsel for the police. "We arrested four accused persons. In sensitive matters where we don't provide a copy of the FIR, they have to approach the commissioner. (Trial court), however, directed that we supply a copy," the lawyer said. "List it today if in order," Justice Manmohan said. On Thursday, Special Judge Hardeep Kaur extended till January 5 the custody of four accused -- Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde and Neelam Devi -- arrested in the Parliament security breach case. On an application by Neelam, the trial court also directed the Investigating Officer (IO) to hand over a copy of the FIR to her counsel. "The concerne