Masked man, a bouquet, and an arrest in 2 hours: Delhi assembly security breach explained

The man behind the wheels has been identified as Sarbjit Singh who broke through Gate 2, which is used for VIPs.

A bouquet of flowers at Delhi legislative assembly complex triggered a major security scare on Monday afternoon. But it was not just the bouquet; it was how it was brought in.

Security breach

It started with a masked man ramming in with his vehicle into the assembly premises, and leaving after dropping the bouquet on the porch of the building. Within about two hours, the masked man and two others were in police custody in connection with the case which was weird and scary in equal measures. Why he did it, remained a mystery as of Monday evening at the time of filing of this report.

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The man behind the wheels has been identified as Sarbjit Singh who broke through Gate 2, which is used for VIPs. Singh got out of the car, went ahead to place a bouquet on the porch near Speaker Vijender Gupta's car, and drove away, HT has reported.

The whole act was recorded by the nearby CCTV cameras, police said.

From the car storming into the Delhi assembly complex to the suspects being nabbed, the entire security breach incident unfolded within two hours.

Masked man barges into Assembly complex

At around 2pm, a masked man behind the wheels barged into the Delhi assembly complex. The suspect hit the tall iron gate as well as a boom barrier on the way in. The car used in the incident was a white Tata Sierra SUV, police said, and had an Uttar Pradesh registration number. It was registered in the name of Sarbjit Singh, the man who is now in custody.

The SUV also hit a rickshaw-puller at around 2:15 pm and the police have spoken to him as well.

Staff who were present at Gate no 2 and inside during the breach were questioned, officials told HT.

The vehicle was seized from north Delhi, new agency PTI later reported. And three men in all were caught.

What we know about the suspect

While key accused Singh hasn't revealed the reason behind the unusual act of barging into the Assembly premises, news agency ANI reported that he left Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh on April 1. He had been missing from home for five days prior to the incident and travelled to Bareilly on April 2. He later reached Delhi on Monday, but did not inform his family about his whereabouts or the purpose of his travel.

His family reportedly hinted at ‘illness’ for his uncontrollable behaviour during which he does not listen to anyone in the family, ANI reported, quoting sources.

Bomb squad called

As per security protocol, bomb squad teams and crime branch were called in, and nothing suspicious was found till the last update.

Special commissioners of police Anil Shukla Ravindra Yadav were at the spot.

Multiple police teams, along with a bomb disposal squad, conducted a thorough sweep of the area to rule out any threat. Forensic experts also examined the bouquet.

‘Entire incident happened in 5-7 minutes’

While the detained suspects are being questioned, police said it was too early to comment on the motive behind the entire incident.

"Our teams are questioning him. Motive is not clear. But we are investigating the entire matter from every possible angle," a police officer told PTI.

"The entire incident happened very quickly, in just five to seven minutes," the officer said.

Reckless driving and the bouquet in Speaker's car

Official sources quoted by the PTI said the car was being driven in a highly reckless manner and was approaching from the Delhi University side.

The driver took a sharp left turn, rammed the vehicle into the main gate, broke through the boom barriers and entered the assembly premises, they said.

He placed a bouquet and a garland inside the official vehicle of the Speaker that was parked in the porch of his office in the assembly premises.

Security personnel later removed the bouquet and the garland due to suspicion that they may have explosive material.

How the accused managed to barge in

The Delhi Vidhan Sabha has six gates, and Gate 2 is designated as the VIP gate. It is opened only during important events which may be the reason that the security at this gate was not as stringent. Only one CRPF personnel was reportedly deployed at the gate when the security breach took place.

With Gate 1 being the main entrance gate, most CRPF personnel are deployed there. A senior officer was quoted as saying that a total of 22 CRPF personnel and 70 to 80 police personnel are deployed at Vidhan Sabha every day.

With inputs from PTI