Parliament Breach: Delhi Police Recover Burnt Phones of Accused From Rajasthan

Lalit Jha allegedly destroyed 'all technical evidence' before he surrendered himself to the cops.

While the four accused have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the fifth accused, Lalit Jha, alleged to be the main conspirator in the case, was arrested on Thursday evening after he surrendered himself to the Delhi Police.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Nearly a week after six persons – Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D, Neelam and Amol Sinde and Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat – were arrested in connection with the Parliament security breach, the Delhi Police on Sunday, 17 December recovered fragments of broken, burnt mobile phones from Rajasthan's Nagaur, news agency PTI reported.

This comes a day after a team of Delhi Police’s Special Cell took accused Lalit Jha to Nagaur where he stayed with the help of the sixth accused Mahesh Kumawat, PTI reported quoting police sources.

According to reports, shortly prior to his arrest on 15 December, Jha, alleged to be the 'mastermind' behind the breach, had purportedly burnt all technical evidence, including mobile phones, to destroy any evidence that could shed light on their “plot."

The Delhi Police have added Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 201 (destruction of evidence/disappearance of evidence) in the First Information Report (FIR) registered on 13 December. This is in addition to four of the accused being charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police on Monday, 18 December has written to Meta to access social media accounts of the six accused, PTI reported. Police officials have also sought details of the now-deleted Facebook page ‘Bhagat Singh Fan Club’, where the accused are learnt to have met.

Lalit Jha, alleged to be the 'mastermind' behind the breach, had purportedly burnt all technical evidence, including mobile phones, to destroy any evidence that could shed light on their “plot."

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

'They (Accused) Wanted To Create Anarchy In The Country': Delhi Police To Court

The six accused wanted to create "anarchy" in the country to get their "illegal demands met" by the government, the Delhi Police told the Patiala House Court on Friday, 16 December while arguing for police custody of Lalit Jha, Bar & Bench reported.

“They wanted to create a situation of anarchy to get their illegal demands met. Look at the time they chose – when the Parliament session was going on,” Public Prosecutor Akhand Pratap Singh, who appeared for the Delhi Police said.

Both Jha and Kumawat were sent to a seven-day police custody by the local court.

Jha, originally from Bihar, worked as a teacher in Kolkata. He surrendered before the Delhi's Kartavya Path Police Station on 15 December. Jha had uploaded two videos of the protest by co-accused Neelam and Anmol Shinde outside the Parliament on 13 December. Soon after this, he fled from the spot and went to Nagaur, where he met his friend Kumawat, who arranged a room for him to spend the night.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior Delhi Police official said that the bank accounts of the accused persons are being scanned to trace the money trail and possible funding from any “questionable” organisation or firm.

Police sources told PTI that they are also investigating the role of one more suspect, who was part of the Bhagat Singh Fan Club page on Facebook – where all the five accused had met one and a half years ago.

"Jha had sent a video to him and asked him to circulate it. He had also written 'Jai Hind' after sending the video," a police official told PTI.

The Quint had earlier reported that two of the accused allegedly hid smoke canisters – which were set off in the Lower House – inside their shoes by carving out a portion of the sole, according to the FIR.

You can read our report on the FIR details here.

Last week, the Delhi Police told the court that the five accused put up social media posts in which they claimed that PM Modi was a "proclaimed offender."

Police officials also said that there was a need to "unearth the larger conspiracy" in the breach.

Meanwhile, the Delhi police reached the residence of Neelam, one of the accused in the case, in Haryana's Jind and left with her old diary and books for investigation, news agency ANI reported.

This comes two days after Neelam's parents filed an application in the Patiala House Court, seeking a copy of the FIR registered against her and sought the court's direction to allow them to meet Neelam during the remand period.

The Special Cell has formed teams across six states – Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra – to investigate the incident, India Today reported.