Parliament security breach: Lok Sabha secretariat suspends 8 personnel for lapses
The suspensions were ordered based on preliminary findings that Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D managed to hide gas canisters inside their shoes, which means frisking was not properly done
The Lok Sabha secretariat has suspended eight security personnel for lapses a day after two men jumped into the House from the visitors’ gallery and sprayed smoke in a major breach of security hours after homage was paid to those killed in the terrorist attack on Parliament in 2001.
Officials familiar with the matter said the suspensions were ordered based on preliminary findings that the two, Sagar Sharma, 27, and Manoranjan D, 34, managed to hide gas canisters inside their shoes, which means frisking was not properly done.
Sharma and Manoranjan D shouted slogans and released yellow smoke before parliamentarians and security staff overpowered and dragged them away.
Lok Sabha reconvened within 45 minutes even as the incursion on the anniversary of the 2001 attack sparked questions about laxity in security protocols and gaps.
Outside Parliament, Neelam Singh, 37, and Amol Shinde, 24, shouted slogans such as, “Bharat Mata ki jai” and “Jai Bhim”.
The Delhi Police’s Special Cell and central intelligence agencies were interrogating the four as they were booked under the stringent anti-terror Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
The Union home ministry ordered a Central Reserve Police Force chief Anish Dayal Singh-led probe into the breach, and to identify lapses, and recommend action. “The committee will submit its report with recommendations, including suggestions on improving security in Parliament, at the earliest,” said an official.
Only parliamentary staff and those working in nearby offices with valid identity cards were allowed to access the road between Parliament and the Red Cross building in central Delhi as part of tightened security arrangements.
At least two security checkpoints were put up on the road even as no visitors will be allowed from Thursday. Journalists were also not allowed to stand outside barricaded Makar Dwar from where the lawmakers enter and exit the House.
Officials and staff of ministers and lawmakers will also not be allowed to use the Makar Dwar. It will be exclusively for the use of members of Parliament.
The intruders cleared three layers of security and gained access to the visitors’ gallery using guest passes. Bharatiya Janata Party member Pratap Simha signed the passes, according to a preliminary investigation.
The four perpetrators, an e-rickshaw driver, a farmer, a government job aspirant, and a daily wage labourer, along with a fifth absconding conspirator identified as Lalit Jha, hatched a plan for the intrusion to raise their grievances about the government, unemployment, and price rise, said police.
The breach prompted Speaker Om Birla to call an urgent all-party meeting. House secretary general Utpal Kumar Singh wrote a letter to the home ministry seeking a detailed security review. This will be the second such exercise in 22 years.
At the all-party meeting, the Opposition leaders pushed the government for a detailed statement on the issue. They also raised concerns about Sharma and Manoranjan managing to pass through three layers of checks — the outer gate of the 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 without getting noticed.