LS security breach: Police seek details of deleted Facebook page, accounts of accused from Meta
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police has written to Meta to access social media accounts of the six accused arrested in the Parliament security breach case and details of the now-deleted Facebook page 'Bhagat Singh Fan Club', where they met each other, according to sources.
Police have also collected bank account details of all the accused to see if they received money from someone for executing the December 13 incident, police sources said on Monday.
Various Delhi Police teams approached family members of the accused on Sunday and collected details of their bank accounts. Bank pass books of Neelam Devi and Sagar Sharma were seized from their residences in Haryana's Jind and Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, respectively, the sources said.
Delhi Police Counter Intelligence unit has written to Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to access social media accounts of the accused persons and sought details of Facebook page 'Bhagat Singh Fan Page' like the number of members, etc.
The page was created by the accused and later deleted.
Meta has also been requested to share WhatsApp chats of the accused as their mobile phones have been damaged, the sources said.
According to police, Lalit Jha, the "mastermind" of the Parliament security breach conspiracy, threw his mobile phone and burnt those of other accused in Rajasthan's Nagaur, where he fled after the incident.
Police later recovered fragments of broken and burnt mobile phones at Jha's instance. These parts have been sent to the forensic department to see if data can be recovered from them.
Delhi Police have arrested six persons so far -- Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D, Amol Shinde, Neelam Devi, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat -- for their alleged involvement in the Parliament security breach case. They have been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Sagar and Manoranjan had jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour on December 13, released yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by MPs.
Around the same time, Amol and Neelam released coloured smoke from canisters outside the Parliament premises and raised slogans.
Lalit, who was present outside the Parliament gate, had recorded the act on his mobile phone. He fled to Nagaur after uploading the video on social media and sharing it with his friends. Mahesh and another accused Kailash, who are cousins, allegedly arranged his stay there.
Later, Lalit and Mahesh came to Delhi and surrendered before police.
The accused told police that they were influenced by the ideology of revolutionary Bhagat Singh and wanted to send a message to the government through their act.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rupee falls 24 paise to 94.39 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 24 paise to 94.39 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, weighed down by elevated crude oil prices and month-end dollar demand amid a broader shift toward safe-haven assets.
Forex traders said Brent oil continued to move higher at USD 109 per barrel, keeping India's position vulnerable.
Moreover, factors such as unabated foreign capital outflows amid rising geopolitical uncertainties dented investor sentiments further.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.35 against the US dollar, then lost some ground and touched 94.39 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a fall of 24 paise over its previous close.
On Monday, the rupee had settled at 94.15 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.49.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.99 per cent at USD 109.30 per barrel in futures trade.
The Indian rupee seems to be standing at a crossroads, not weak enough to fall, not strong enough to rise, said CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs has raised its oil price forecast to USD 94.39 per barrel, while trimming India’s 2026 growth forecast to 5.9 per cent.
"When growth expectations soften at the same time, it reduces the cushion the currency usually enjoys," Pabari added.
According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, rising crude oil prices are keeping India’s position vulnerable.
"We have come to the end of the month, and the month-end demand could keep USD higher in the coming two days," Bhansali added.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 68.28 points or 0.09 per cent lower at 77,235.35, while the broader Nifty was trading up 14.25 points or 0.06 per cent at 24,029.25.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,151.48 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
