High alert in Delhi after Manipur MP’s car rams barricade at Parliament

The car belongs to Congress Lok Sabha MP from Manipur Dr Thokchom Meinya.

A high alert was sounded in the national capital after the car of a Member of Parliament rammed a barricade at the Parliament premises on Tuesday morning.

Parliament security personnel are investigating the cause of the incident, news agency ANI reported. (Sanjeev verma/ HT Photo)

The car belongs to Congress Lok Sabha MP from Manipur Dr Thokchom Meinya. The incident took place when the car got stuck on the security spikes and set off the security siren.

The security personnel immediately took positions to thwart any hostile challenge as has been the standard operating procedure since the 2001 Parliament attack.

Though no one was injured in the incident, the car suffered some damage. The MP was not in the car when the incident took place.

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Parliament security personnel are investigating the cause of the incident, news agency ANI reported.

In December 2018, a similar incident had led to a security alert after a taxi had rammed the barricading pole at an entry point. The security siren was set off when the Toyota Innova collided with a pillar at the Parliament entry gate.

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Standard response procedures and enhanced security systems along with better-trained manpower carrying sophisticated weapons, new detector gadgets, sniffer dogs and armoured vehicles were also brought in.

The December 13, 2001, attack took place when five men of a suicide squad drove into the 6-acre Parliament complex. The attackers were armed with AK-47s with multiple magazines, grenades and other explosives.

The gun battle, which lasted barely 20 minutes, had left nine people dead. Of the five attackers, four were shot and killed, while the fifth one had blown himself up on the main steps of the building.