Parliament security breach: Cops recover burnt phones of accused
Delhi Police say the accused explored self-immolation after applying fire-resistant gel to create more drama, but dropped the idea later
Delhi Police on Sunday (December 17) said they have recovered parts of the phones of all the accused in the Parliament security breach case in burnt condition.
Police said prime accused Lalit Jha was in possession of the phones of the other accused.
The recovery comes a day after the sixth accused was apprehended by police. The sixth accused, Mahesh Kumawat from Rajasthan's Nagaur, was allegedly in contact with the other accused for the last two years for hatching the conspiracy and had destroyed their mobile phones to get rid of the evidence, police said on Saturday.
According to police, the other five accused revealed that they explored the idea of self-immolation after applying fire-resistant gel on their body to create more dramatic scenes without hurting themselves and get media attention. However, they later dropped this idea, settling on the plan to jump into the Lok Sabha chamber with smoke canisters.
All the accused, who have been remanded in police custody for a week, are from different states - Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. As the probe widened, police teams have left for their respective states for further investigation into the December 13 incident, sources said.
The Delhi Police Special Cell, which is investigating the case, also plans to record the statement of BJP MP Pratap Simha, who had authorised the visitor passes for the two men who breached security to enter the House.
Two men – Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D – had jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans, before being overpowered by the MPs. Around the same time, two others – Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi – released coloured smoke from canisters while shouting "tanashahi nahi chalegi" outside the Parliament premises. Lalit Jha, the fifth accused, allegedly circulated videos of the protest outside the complex on social media.
"Before finalising this plan (to jump into the Lok Sabha chamber), they (accused) had explored certain ways that could be impactful in sending their message to the government," a Delhi Police official aware of the investigations told PTI.
Late on Friday, the investigators took the accused to various places where they met and conspired on the breach. The police are likely to seek Parliament's permission to recreate the breach that occurred on the anniversary of the 2001 attacks. Sources said the investigators have also not given a clean chit to Mahesh Kumwat and Kailash – who allegedly helped Jha escape. The police will soon take Jha to Nagaur in Rajasthan where he stayed after fleeing on Wednesday. He will be taken to the place where he claimed to have destroyed his and others' mobile phones, another official said. All five arrested accused have been sent to seven days' police custody.
(With inputs from agencies)