Parl security breach chargesheet: Accused wanted to discredit Indian democracy, get global attention
New Delhi (PTI): The December 13, 2023 Parliament security breach accused wanted to discredit India's democracy, gain instant global fame, usurp power and achieve "richness and glory" by targeting the "very symbol of democracy", according to the chargesheet filed in the court by Delhi Police.
The accused first met on social media and planned their move for nearly two years before executing it last year on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack. According to the chargesheet, a source said, their first in-person meeting was held in February, 2022 at Mysuru.
Citing from the chargesheet, sources told PTI, that in total they held five meetings in Mysuru, Gurugram and Delhi to decided finalise their plan and arrive at a modus operandi.
The chargesheet, spread over 1,000 pages, was filed before the Patiala House Court in June and the court took its cognisance last month. A supplementary was filed in July.
The chargesheet mentioned that the group of young people, led by Manoranjan D, a resident of Karnataka, met on social media.
Manoranjan is among the six accused arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell, sources said.
Manoranjan, according to the chargesheet, is suspected to be among the main conspirators of the parliament breach, who allegedly "instigated and motivated" the young people by promising them "richness, glory and wealth" and by targeting the "very symbol of democracy".
While citing the chargesheet, a source said that driven by his "ultra Maoist-inspired thinking" Manoranjan decided to target the Parliament building to gain immediate and lasting attention.
The source said the accused wanted to send out a wider message that the "Indian Democracy is ineffective and needs to be replaced".
The major security breach took place on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack. The accused launched coordinated gas attack both inside and outside the parliament house during the Zero Hour on December 13, 2023.
Two persons -- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D -- jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery and opened canisters that released yellow gas in the House. They also shouted slogans before parliamentarians overpowered them.
Outside the Parliament premises around the same time, two other accused -- Amol Shinde and Neelam Azad -- also sprayed coloured gases from canisters while shouting "tanashahi nahi chalegi (dictatorship won't be allowed)"
Manoranjan, Sagar Sharma, Amol Shinde and Neelam Azad were arrested on the same day as they were caught soon after their acts. Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat were arrested on December 15 and 16, respectively. All the accused are lodged in the Tihar jail.
They have been booked under sections 16 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code by the Delhi Police's anti-terror unit, Special Cell.
Citing the charegsheet, a source said that Manoranjan dropped out of an engineering course and travelled to Combodia in 2014 where he stayed for eight months.
The source said that after coming back to India, he travelled to Ladakh on a motorcycle in 2015, which "mirrors" the famous "Motorcycle Diaries" penned by Che Guvevara, a Cuban revolution communist icon.
During his trip to Ladakh, a Chinese student, who was then studying at Hyderabad, also accompanied him as a pillion rider to Delhi, via Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Citing the chargesheet, the source further said the first meeting of the accused was held in February, 2022 in Mysuru at a flat of Manoranjan's friend which was attended by 10 people including Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Shinde, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat.
In this meeting, Manoranjan showed some videos of violent protests to the participants, and floated the idea of building an organisation. They discussed the idea of using the "protective gel" while executing their design inside and outside the Parliament, the source said.
They also discussed usurping power using "tear gas previously used in March 2018 in Kosovo", the source added.
Their second meeting was held at a hotel in Gurugram in August, 2022, which was attended by seven people as some of the members had already "backed out" knowing their "nefarious" plan, another source said.
He said that in this meeting, they decided to include a woman in their plan and that is how they inducted Neelam into their group.
In their third meeting held at a hotel in Paharganj in central Delhi in August 2023, they decided to use the smoke canisters for their act in the Parliament. This meeting was attended by all the six accused arrested in the case, the source said.
They met again at the same Paharganj hotel in September, 2023 and discussed getting entry passes and the use smoke canisters inside Parliament. They also decided to enter into the Parliament during the winter session, the source said.
Their last meeting was held at Gurugram and subsequently, near the Delhi's India Gate on December 13, 2023, the final day of the execution of their plan.
The four accused - Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Shinde and Neelam Azad -- broke their SIM cards and handed them over to Lalit Jha, who was tasked to destroy them all, the source said.
Jha was also given the task of recording Shinde and Neelam as they executed their plan at the Parliament gate and upload the video on social media.
The police also said in the chargesheet that the accused were members of a social media page "Bhagat Singh Fan Club", and they mostly used the signal app to communicate, according to the source.
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EC role, Hindu vote consolidation among factors for BJP win in Bengal polls: J-K CM Omar
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday attributed the BJP's West Bengal win to a "significant role" played by the Election Commission (EC), alongside a consolidation of Hindu votes and a fractured minority mandate.
Abdullah also said the INDIA bloc needs to define its role in the political landscape of the country and make it clear whether the opposition alliance was limited to the parliamentary elections or extended to the state elections as well.
Talking to PTI Videos, Abdullah hinted that the EC has compromised its neutrality by conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal and linked it to the BJP's gains in the state, claiming large-scale deletion of legitimate voters.
On the performance of the BJP in the just concluded assembly elections, Abdullah said the saffron party has almost nothing to show in southern states.
"So then you look at West Bengal and Assam. Yes, the BJP improved its tally in Assam. There are various reasons for that. You know as well as I do, what those are. West Bengal, I think we need to look at the results very carefully," he said.
"The easiest explanation for the West Bengal result is the serious curtailing of voter list," Abdullah said.
"Voters found their names deleted. People who served in uniform and fought for this country on the borders, who were considered Indian citizens all their lives, were suddenly held to a higher standard and not allowed to vote. Something is not right," he said.
While alleging that the EC played a "significant part" in the results, the chief minister admitted the outcome was multifaceted and noted a consolidation of over 60 per cent of the Hindu vote towards the BJP and a "significant fracture" in the minority vote, particularly in seats where Muslims constitute over 50 per cent of the population.
"There is no doubt that the role of the Election Commission played a significant part in the results but we will also have to look at the other factors," he said.
He said the results of West Bengal cannot be compared to those in other states. "The situation was unique to West Bengal. The SIR that was done, the way in which the voter lists were changed, the sort of minute scrutiny that the Election Commission subjected West Bengal to, the role of the central investigative agencies.
"All of these are situations that at least in recent electoral history of India are unique to West Bengal. So to suggest that we can learn lessons from West Bengal and implement them in other parts of the country, I think would not be correct," he said.
Abdullah had recently said that if the West Bengal results throw a surprise, the role of EC will come under scrutiny.
However, during Tuesday's interview, the chief minister said he still maintains that electronic voting machines (EVMs) do not lead to vote theft.
"What we saw in West Bengal...I know there are a lot of people who believe that the EVMs themselves are flawed. I am not a proponent of that conspiracy theory.
"But I do believe that the Election Commission has done itself no favours in the way in which it has gone about both the process of delimitation and the process of finalisation of electoral rolls," he said and cited the example of delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir or Assam.
"These are clear examples of how the process was done to benefit one party or in the case of Jammu and Kashmir, one party and its allies. And the results speak for themselves. You created seven new seats in Jammu and Kashmir and out of those six seats were won by the BJP. You redrew assembly constituencies to benefit one particular party or its allies. And the same is true for West Bengal as well," he said.
Referring to the INIDA bloc, he said the election results were no new message for the alliance.
"We need to decide what the INDIA bloc is for. Is it only for Parliament or for state elections as well?" he asked.
"What happened in West Bengal is unfortunate. The Congress and TMC fought against each other. Now the Congress agrees with Mamata Banerjee that 100 seats were stolen, but the fact is they fought each other," he said.
Despite the friction, Abdullah reaffirmed the "pre-eminent position" of the Congress within the opposition alliance, dismissing the idea of any other party assuming the mantle.
"The Congress is the only party other than the BJP with a pan-India presence. All of us acknowledge this," he stated.
"To suggest someone else can assume a leadership role would be incorrect. Kharge Sahib is the president of the Congress, and by virtue of that, he assumes leadership of the INDIA bloc meetings. That is the way it should be," the chief minister said.
Abdullah said any 'Common Minimum Programme' would depend on whether the opposition alliance decides to fight state assembly elections collectively, noting that he would share his specific views with the bloc internally rather than through the media.
