ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Ex Modi Fan, Unemployed Woman, E-Rickshaw Driver: Those Behind Parliament Breach

Seven accused have been identified so far, including the four who breached Parliament security on Wednesday.

Updated
Aa
Aa
Small
Aa
Medium
Aa
Large

"My name is Neelam. This Government of India is committing atrocities against us. We are unable to speak for our rights, the police does lathi-charge and puts us behind bars and tortures us. We had no medium to speak up for our rights. We are not affiliated to any association or groups. We are common people, we are students. We are unemployed," Neelam (42), one of the four accused who breached Parliament's security on Wednesday, 13 December, shouted while she was being dragged by the police.

In a massive security breach, at least four people set off coloured smoke canisters and chanted slogans inside the Lok Sabha and in the Parliament premises on Wednesday, raising several questions on the Parliament's security protocol.

The police has identified seven people linked to the operation so far, out of which four have been arrested, two have been detained, and one is absconding, sources told The Quint.

While two of them — Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D — jumped in the Lok Sabha from the visitors' gallery and set off coloured smoke canisters inside the House, two others — Amol Shinde and Neelam — raised slogans and set off the canisters outside the House in the Parliament premises. Three more accomplices have been identified as Lalit Jha who hails from Bihar, and Vicky Sharma and his wife.
The accused, sources said, were staying in Gurugram and had left for the Parliament on Wednesday morning.

Here's what we know about the four accused and their connections with each other so far:

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Sagar Sharma: E-Rickshaw Driver From Lucknow

Sagar Sharma is one of the accused who was inside the Lok Sabha and whose visitors' pass bears the signature of Bharatiya Janata Party (MP) Pratap Simha from Mysuru.

Sharma hails from Lucknow's Alambagh and drives an e-rickshaw in the city.

"I am shocked to see all this. My son is not like this. I can't believe he could do something like this," Sagar's mother Rani Sharma told the media, adding that he is not associated with any political party.

He had left from Lucknow two days ago, she said.

"He had said that he is going to Delhi for a protest. We didn't ask him much," his sister Mahi Sharma said.

His father is a carpenter and the family lives in a rented house in Lucknow, she said.

The Lucknow Police reached Sagar's residence and questioned his family.

Manoranjan: Engineer, Former Fan of PM Modi Fan

Manoranjan D, is the second person who was inside the Parliament. He hails from Mysuru in Karnataka. His father, Devraj Gowda, described him as a hardworking engineer who graduated in 2014 and as a former fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"If my son has done anything good, of course, I support him but If he has done something wrong, I strongly condemn it. What he has done is punishable. Let him be hanged if he has done something wrong to the society," he told the media outside his Vijayanagar residence in Mysuru.

His father also said that his family is a supporter of the BJP and that they have good relations with MP Pratap Simha.

The family hails from former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda's hometown and moved to Mysuru 15 years ago. Manoranjan pursued his engineering in Bengaluru.

"His passion lay in reading the works of Swami Vivekananda, amassing a collection of over 10,000 books," his father told the media.

"He used to say that having a PM like Narendra Modi is a blessing," he added.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Neelam: Unemployed Woman, Held Multiple Degrees

Neelam, one of the two suspects arrested from outside the Parliament, hails from Ghaso Khurd village of Haryana's Jind.

She was studying for civil services entrance exams in Hisar and living in a girls PG there. Her father is a sweets shop owner.

"Neelam is my sister. We did not know she is in Delhi. We thought she is in Hisar for her studies. She was studying for competitive exams," her younger brother told news agency ANI, adding that Neelam had visited home just a day before.

According to her brother, Neelam is unemployed despite being BA, MA, B.Ed, M.Ed, CTET, M.Phil and NET-qualified.

"She had raised the issue of unemployment several times. She had also participated in farmers' protests," he said.

"Another brother of mine called and asked us to switch on the TV. He said that Neelam has been arrested," he added.

Neelam's mother Saraswati said: "She was fed up of unemployment. She had studied a lot but we didn't have any influential connections."

"She always spoke about unemployment. She would question what her degrees are for if she cannot get a job and it's better if she's dead," she added.

"The last time we spoke, she said that I should consult a better doctor," Saraswati said.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Amol Shinde: Daily Wager, Army Job Aspirant

Amol Shinde (25), was arrested from outside the Parliament along with Neelam while he raised slogans and set off smoke canisters. Shinde hails from Maharashtra's Latur.

According to a local police officer from Latur quoted by PTI, Shinde who comes from Zari village in Chakur tehsil, told his parents that he was going to Delhi to take part in an Army recruitment drive.

Shinde belongs to a Scheduled Caste community and is a BA graduate, who did odd jobs as a daily wager while preparing for police and army recruitment exams, PTI reported.

A team of Latur police visited his house to question his family after the incident.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Vicky Sharma: Did Odd Jobs, Father of a 14-year-Old

The fifth and sixth accused are Vicky Sharma and his wife from Gurugram.

Speaking to news agency ANI, RWA president Vijay Parmar said that Vicky did not have a stable job and he switched between jobs like driving or security guard.

"Though there was never anything like this suspected, he was known to assault his wife and abuse the neighbours," Parmar said.

Vicky and his wife both have been detained by the police. They have a 14-year-old daughter.

The seventh accused, Lalit Jha, is still absconding.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

How The Accused Are Connected, How they Coordinated the Attack

  • According to police sources, the accused stayed in Gurugram at Lalit's residence.

  • All six reportedly wanted to go inside the Lok Sabha but only two of them had managed to procure passes.

  • The police has reportedly not yet traced the mobile phones of any of the accused so far.

  • The police is trying to ascertain if the accused were instructed by anyone or organisation.

  • While five accused have been nabbed so far, the search for the sixth person is underway.

(With inputs from ANI, PTI, and India Today.)

(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)

Published: 
Speaking truth to power requires allies like you.
Become a Member
×
×