Parliament breach case: Delhi court sends accused Lalit Jha to seven days police custody
NEW DELHI,DEC 15: A Delhi Court on Friday allowed a seven-day police remand of Parliament’s security intrusion case mastermind and fifth accused Lalit Jha, who was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell on Thursday.
Lalit was brought before Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur of Patiala House Courts in the presence of a SWAT team.
Representing Delhi Police, Public Prosecutor Akhand Pratap Singh argued that Jha disclosed his involvement in the case and described the way he became the “mastermind” of the entire conspiracy.
Police sought 15 days of remand for Lalit to investigate the whole conspiracy behind the incident.
The accused persons involved in the security breach of the new Parliament building belong to different places and thus, they have to be taken to various places, it was argued by the public prosecutor.
Mobile phones concerning the conspiracy need to be recovered, it was told to the court, saying Lalit must have destroyed them, Singh said further.
The judge had on Thursday allowed 7-day police custody of four other persons arrested for causing security breach at the Parliament after they jumped from the visitors’ gallery to the chamber diffusing yellow gas from smoke canisters that they had carried.
very introverted’: Alleged mastermind’s kin ‘shocked’ over role in Parliament security breach
The accused persons –Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D, Neelam Verma, and Amol Shinde were charged under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) among other charges.
Sections 16 and 18 of the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) related to terrorism and conspiracy for terrorism, were also added to the case, the court was informed.
Parliament security breach: Bundles of contradictions and where does it lead?
APP, appearing for the police had said the right of the accused persons was limited to the gallery. “But they jumped from the gallery where MPs were discussing and the session was live… This erupted proceeding,” APP said, adding that the accused persons were hiding the smoke canister in their shoes.
It was also submitted by the APP that the accused persons were associated with a group called ‘Bhagat Singh Fan Club’ on Facebook and that they bought the shoes from Lucknow and the gas canisters from Mumbai, adding they needed to be taken to those cities for investigation.
-PTI