8 Lok Sabha Personnel Suspended Over Massive Parliament Security Breach

New Delhi:

At least eight Lok Sabha personnel have been suspended over the huge security breach that occurred inside the Parliament on Wednesday when two intruders jumped from the visitor’s gallery in the Lok Sabha.

Rampal, Arvind, Vir Das, Ganesh, Anil, Pradeep, Vimitt and Narendra were among the eight personnel suspended.

The two intruders jumped into the Lok Sabha chambers on Wednesday and set off two canisters emitting yellow smoke while one of them leaped over tables to run towards the Speaker’s chair. Outside the parliament, two others burst similar red and yellow coloured smoke bombs and shouted slogans against dictatorship.

The four have been arrested and identified as Sagar Sharma, D Manoranjan, Neelam Azad and Amol Shinde. They have been charged under the under anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and sections of Indian Penal Code. Among two other accused, Lalit Jha, allegedly shot videos of Neelam and Shinde using the canisters outside Parliament and then fled with their cellphones while Vicky Sharma’s Gurgoan house was where all accused stayed.

Several MPs surrounded the intruders once chaos began inside the Lok Sabha. In a video, at least four MPs were seen raining blows on one of the intruders. One leader yanked him by the hair while others continued to hit him. 

Police say the four people hailed from different states and met over several times in the last 18 months to plan the breach. All four had connected on a social media page named “‘Bhagat Singh Fan Club”.

The major security breach occurred on the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack.