Parliament security breach | 'Lynch my son if found guilty', says accused's father in Mysuru

One of the accused who barged into the Lok Sabha on Wednesday in a major security breach on the anniversary of the December 13, 2001, Parliament attack, is from Mysuru. He is identified as Manoranjan Gowda, a 34-year-old BE graduate, who was allegedly issued a pass to enter the Lok Sabha gallery by Mysuru MP Pratap Simha.

Manoranjan was among the accused who jumped into the LS chamber from the public gallery with a 'colour bomb' when the session was live. According to state police sources, Manoranjan, son of Devaraje Gowda, is a resident of Phase 2, Vijayanagar, Mysuru. He was born in Mysuru and did his primary and pre-university courses in the city. It is learned that Manoranjan originally hails from Mallapur village in Arakalagod Taluk I Hassan district and was at home after completing his BE degree from BIT College, Bengaluru.

Devaraje Gowda identified his son when TV channels telecast the incident. The police, who were alerted by the Union Home Ministry, visited his house for enquiries. Gajendra Prasad, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Vijayanagar sub-division, visited Manoranjan's residence and sought information from Devaraje Gowda.

Speaking to the media, Devaraje said his son is a social worker and is fond of society. "He has a desire to help needy persons. He reads a lot of books. He often used to go to Delhi and Bengaluru," he said. What his son has done in the Parliament building now is unforgivable, he added. "Lok Sabha is like a temple. I condemn it (his son's action). I don't know why he did this. I don't know about the others in the case either. if Manoranjan has done wrong, he can be lynched for his misdeed," he said.

Devaraje said Manoranjan completed his engineering degree in Bengaluru in 2014. " He was roaming around Delhi and Bangalore, but I don't know where he went. I am a farmer. He is very well-read. He came to the farm and worked with my workers recently," he said. "Three days ago, Manoranjan left home saying he was going to Bengaluru. But he has nothing to do with any organisation or political party," he added.

Police scouring through his personal belongings at his Mysore home reportedly found an eclectic collection of books, ranging from philosopher J Krishnamurti to Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.

Demand to interrogate Pratap Simha

When it was learned that the passes issued to the accused were from Mysuru MP Pratap Simha’s office, Congress demanded an interrogation of the MP, too. It is said Pratap Simha had given passes for the LS gallery to two persons, Manoranjan Gowda and Sagar Sharma.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaraamaiah said if it's true, it implies that these youths might have been known to Simha. If they were not acquaintances, how were passes issued to strangers, he asked. It should be noted that even inadvertent acts of negligence are also punishable under the law, he observed.