On Thursday, Indian police filed terrorism charges against four individuals in connection to a security breach in the Indian Parliament, as reported by both local and global media. In a shocking turn of events, the suspects are said to have set off smoke cans within and around the India’s lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha. Reports indicate that two of the accused infiltrated the parliamentary chamber’s public gallery during Zero Hour and unleashed a yellow gaseous substance from canisters while also loudly issuing slogans.
Zero Hour constitutes a critical session in the parliament where emergent issues requiring immediate government attention are raised. The security breach violates several established security guidelines, and has thereby led to significant concerns within the community.
The Delhi Police, in response to the incident, has lodged a case against the suspects under the articles 16 and 18 of India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, a stringent anti-terror law. The suspects are also facing several charges under the Indian Penal Code including criminal conspiracy, trespassing, provoking a riot, and impeding a public servant in discharging their duties.
According to the police, there was a well-planned conspiracy at the root of this incident. One of the alleged perpetrators, Lalit Mohan Jha, stated that the group had meticulously planned this act for quite a while, seemingly inspired by the revolutionary act of Bhagat Singh who threw bombs in Central Assembly during the times of British rule in India. This account was revealed during the interrogation of the suspects. In a bizarre series of events, one among them shared a pamphlet labeled “Missing” widely on social media platforms – the pamphlet had a picture of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on it.
On the same day, an Indian court remanded the suspects to the custody of the Delhi Police for a period of seven days. This security breach is particularly disturbing as it took place on the 22nd anniversary of a fiercely violent Jihadist attack on the premises of the Parliament back in 2001.