New Delhi: Delhi Police on Thursday got seven days of custody of all four accused in the Parliament security breach issue. The Special Cell of Delhi Police was granted custody for further interrogation.
The accused- Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Shinde, and Neelam Devi- were produced before the Patiala House Court earlier in the day. The Delhi Police had sought a 15-day remand of the accused, PTI reported.
The court, however, remanded them in police custody for 7 days.
They have been charged under the anti-terror law UAPA besides various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
What Police Told The Court
During the arguments, the prosecution accused the four of indulging in an act of terrorism and said they tried to incite fear. Delhi Police also told the court that the incident was a "well-planned conspiracy and attack" on the Parliament of India, reported PTI.
As per the report, the police have added Sections 16 and 18 of the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) related to terrorism and conspiracy for terrorism, respectively, against them, the court was told.
"Their right was limited to gallery. They jumped from the (visitors) gallery into the Well, which was trespass. They hid (smoke) canister in their shoes," police said.
The Delhi Police argued that their custodial interrogation was necessary to unravel the actual motive behind the incident and find out if some other people were also involved.
"Special shoes were made in Lucknow which needs to be probed. They need to be taken to Mumbai, Mysore and Lucknow for probe," the prosecution told the court.
The court assigned a legal aid counsel for the accused as they expressed a lack of legal representation. The court-appointed defense counsel objected to the city police's request for a 15-day remand, stating that two or three days would be adequate for their custodial interrogation, reported PTI.
What Is The Case?
In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack, two persons -- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D -- jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery, unleashed yellow coloured smoke from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by some MPs.
Around the same time, two other accused -- Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi -- also sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting "tanashahi nahi chalegi" outside Parliament premises.
Sagar, Manoranjan, Amol, and Neelam were immediately taken into custody, while their accomplice Vishal, in whose house the accused stayed before reaching Parliament, was detained later.
Lalit Jha, another accused in the case, is absconding and efforts are underway to nab him.
Meanwhile, Vicky Sharma and his wife Rakhi, who were detained by the Police in connection with the matter, have been sent back to their residence in Gurugram. They were questioned about the five accused (4 arrested, 1 absconding) who had allegedly stayed at their residence. As per Delhi Police, both of them will have to appear before the Police for questioning whenever required.