Bizarre, lack of coherence in ideas, contradictions, fascination for social media among other things stand out as the narrative relating to the perpetrators of the Parliament security breach of December 13, 2023, unfolds.
For instance, when we look at the contradictions, the perpetrators were devotees of deities, spiritual and revolutionary leaders raging from Lord Shiva and J Krishnamurthi to Dr B R Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh and Che Guevara.
The security breach coincided with the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack. In 2001, six Delhi police personnel, two Parliament security service personnel and a gardener were killed in the attack by five armed assailants. The assailants were subsequently killed by security forces.
Latest reports reveal that the mastermind of the security breach, Lalit Jha surrendered before the Kartavya Path police in Delhi on Thursday evening. According to the Indian Express, he destroyed all technical evidence, including mobile phones, before he surrendered.
Earlier, four perpetrators, Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D, Amol Shinde and Neelam Azad were arrested and charged under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) besides sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). One Vicky Sharma, who works as a driver, has also been detained, along with his wife Rekha, for letting the accused stay at their house in Gurugram ahead of the breach on Wednesday.
Lalit Jha is a native of Bihar, working as a teacher in Kolkata. He is also part of an NGO in Kolkata founded by one Neelaksh Aish.
Soon after the security breach, Jha recorded a video of Neelam and Amol shouting slogans and releasing yellow-coloured smoke from canisters outside the Parliament building and sent it to Aish.
The accused, reports quoting the lawyers said, carried a pamphlet and declared Prime Minister Modi as a missing person and said the person who found him would be paid with money from the Swiss Bank. The accused persons showed the PM as a proclaimed offender.
Jha was inspired by freedom fighter Shaheed Bhagat Singh. Contrastingly, he was also promoting thoughts of Subhas Chandra Bose, Fidel Castro, and Chandrasekhar Azad, along with socialist poets like Adam Gondavi. Interestingly, he equally admires Swami Vivekanand and J Krishnamurthi, India Today reports. Jha expressed displeasure over BJP government’s populist policies.
Sagar Sharma (27) was born in Delhi and lived in Lucknow and was an e-rickshaw driver. He was one of the two intruders who jumped into the Lok Sabha on Wednesday and set off a smoke canister inside the legislature. Sagar is known for his social media posts that often include quotes from revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh and Che Guevara.
Manoranjan D (34) is a resident of Mysuru. He holds a Bachelor's degree in computer engineering. He had also jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber after Sharma.
Neelam Azad (37) hails from Hisar in Haryana. She holds an M.Phil degree. She has also cleared the National Eligibility Test, which is required to get a teaching job. According to India Today, she is a staunch follower of the Constitution's architect, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. She is linked to an organisation named Pragatisheel Azad Yuva Sangathan (PAYS). The group’s idol: Bhagat Singh.
According to the NDTV, Amol Shinde, a Dalit, joined Neelam Azad in deploying the canisters and shouting slogans outside Parliament. From a village in Maharashtra's Latur, the 25-year-old is the son of farm labourers and had failed to clear police and Army recruitment exams despite repeated attempts. He is a sports enthusiast, a fan of Bhagat Singh and a devotee of Lord Shiva.