With the investigators getting several new leads in the ongoing probe into Parliament security breach case, Delhi Police Special Cell staff are presently busy interrogating all the accused presently in their custody, to get a clear picture about their conspiracy. Lalit Jha, said to be the mastermind, told police that he has burnt the cell phones of all the accused, thus putting paid to any chance of getting any digital evidence. Investigators may now find it difficult to join the missing dots to establish who motivated these youths to plan the security breach.
Investigators are still wary and are verifying whether the cell phones were really burnt by Lalit or was it a ploy to mislead them. Police sources say, there were eight, not six persons, who were part of this group. Among them is Mahesh, resident of Nagaur, Rajasthan, where Lalit reached after fleeing from Parliament premises. Mahesh had booked a hotel room from his own ID. Secondly, Lalit has told interrogators that they had originally planned to immolate themselves inside and outside Parliament by applying a free retardant gel on their bodies to minimize burn injuries, but jettisoned the idea after failing to procure the gel. Lalit told police that use of smoke canisters was Plan B, which was finally executed.
The full plan was executed like professional and trained criminals. Police is still trying to find out who funded these unemployed youths for their air travels and other expenses, and who gave these youths the main idea on how to barge inside Parliament. Meanwhile, Karnataka police intelligence department sources have found that Mysuru resident Manoranjan Gowda, an unemployed IT engineer, travelled to Delhi by air, and he had also visited Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand. Police is trying to find out who was funding his foreign travels. Police suspect that the group may have got foreign funds.
Trinamool Congress councillor Tapas Roy appeared in an old photograph with Lalit Jha in Kolkata, but he claimed on Friday that the photograph was of an event that took place four years ago, and he was unaware about the identities of persons who were with him in the photograph. I do not find any substance in the claim that the youths who barged into Parliament wanted to raise their voice on unemployment, nor the claim that they met one another through Bhagat Singh Fans Club.
Till now, most of them have revealed less and concealed more during police interrogation. Had the matter been an issue relating to raising their voice against unemployment, why did Lalit Jha flee after the act to Rajasthan? Why did he destroy cellphones which were vital evidences? What was he trying to hide? Had the investigators been given the cell phones, they could have found out about people whom this group had met and who funded the group. The truth is yet to be revealed. The connections of these people with others are yet to be disclosed.
BJP leaders showed a photograph of Lalit with the TMC corporator, and another photograph of the lawyer of an accused with social activist Teesta Setalvad has appeared. Such photographs of accused cannot be taken as solid evidence in a big conspiracy, but can definitely point the finger of suspicion.
Congress leaders are questioning how the Mysuru BJP MP sent request to Parliament secretariat to grant visitor's passes to these people. Some have alleged that these youths were selected more than a year ago from states like UP, Maharashtra and Haryana, where there are BJP governments. It it a sanyog (coincidence) or a prayog (experiment)? Meanwhile, work in Parliament has come to a standstill, with the Opposition demanding Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on the security breach. There were protests outside Parliament near Gandhi statue on Friday, where Congress leader Sonia Gandhi took part.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said, the Speaker is the custodian of the House, and the government is only following what the Speaker has directed. Union Minister Giriraj Singh said, opposition demand for a statement by Home Minister is 'childish' because the investigation is still continuing and more facts are yet to be revealed. I am surprised over why a statement by Home Minister Amit Shah inside the House has become such a big issue. The Speaker has taken responsibility and has told the House that the probe is in progress.
Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Rajnath Singh have promised that members will be provided full security. The Opposition should have accepted their assurances. Even Home Minister could have repeated the same remarks that he has made outside the House about this security breach. If he had done so, this issue would not have blown to such a big proportion. Even after the Home Minister's statement, if the opposition had stalled the proceedings, the blame would have gone to the opposition.
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