On Friday (15th December) new updates surfaced during the investigation of the parliament security breach case. It is found in the police probe that the accused initially planned to set themselves ablaze outside the parliament but the plan was abandoned. The police are also checking if there is a foreign funding angle in this case.

On Friday, the investigators said that the individuals who infiltrated Parliament security and released yellow smoke within the Lok Sabha sought to attract media attention to establish a political party. They believed that it was the most effective means to articulate and convey their ‘opinions’. One of the arrested accused Sagar Sharma told police that the intruders had initially planned to set themselves ablaze outside the parliament. Later this plan was abandoned.

The investigating officer said, “He said that to form a political party, they had to do something that would get them media attention. He said that they didn’t want to align with any other political party because their ideology didn’t match.”

According to the information shared by the officer, these intruders wanted to stage the self-immolation without getting any serious burn injuries. For this, they had also planned to buy a gel-like material so that they would not burn. The officer said, “He said that they tried to buy this gel online and also collected money but couldn’t get through with the payment.”

On Friday, the Delhi police also submitted the details of the case unearthed so far in front of the Patiala house court. The police said that Lalit Jha was the mastermind of the entire parliament security breach episode conspiracy. The police asserted that the intruders wanted to create anarchy in the country to force the government to meet their demands. The police may also seek permission to recreate the crime scene in the new parliament.

Lalit Jha is sent to 7 days police custody for further interrogation. The police contended in the court that the accused held multiple meetings before executing this attack. The police sought the custody of the accused to ascertain if he was attached to any terror outfit or enemy country.

The police said in the court, “Jha disclosed that they wanted to create anarchy in the country so that they can compel the government to meet their demands. He took the phones (of other accused) to hide them and to destroy evidence as part of the larger conspiracy. He disclosed that he threw his phone away on the way from Jaipur to Delhi. His custody is needed to undertake an in-depth investigation to unearth the larger conspiracy behind the attack, involvement of other persons, and to find the actual motive behind the attack.”

The police further told the court, “We need him to confront the accused with each other, to locate the mobile phones, to take him to the hotel where stayed for four days, and to know the financial transaction and funding behind the attack.”

The investigations are also going on to check if there was any kind of foreign funding to these intruders to execute this security breach in the parliament. Authorities suspect the engagement of foreign funding, given the accused’s strategic planning and repeated visits to Delhi for recce. The police are also actively seeking the individual who assisted them in creating shoes with concealed compartments to hide canisters.

A senior police officer mentioned that police will be taking Jha to Rajasthan to trace the places where he threw his phone and burnt the phones of others. The officer said, “After the incident, he fled to Rajasthan where he stayed for two days and returned to Delhi last night.”

According to the police, the primary hurdle in this case lies in the absence of the accused individuals’ mobile phones, which could be instrumental in tracking the origins of the conspiracy and determining the potential involvement of additional individuals.

The officer added, “We are planning to approach Parliament to seek permission for recreating the crime scene inside the House and outside the Parliament building. Lalit Jha, who was arrested on Thursday, revealed during the interrogation that he had thrown his phone on the Delhi-Jaipur highway and destroyed the phones of the other accused.”