In a significant development, Delhi Police sought custody of Lalit Jha, the mastermind behind the Lok Sabha security breach on December 13. During the court hearing at Patiala House Court on Friday, the police asserted that Lalit orchestrated the entire attack, assigning specific roles to his accomplices—Sagar, Manoranjan, Neelam, and Amol. The police emphasized the need to recover Lalit’s mobile phone to unravel the motive behind the incident. The court granted a seven-day custody for further investigation.
Lalit Jha, a teacher from West Bengal, managed to evade arrest initially but was apprehended on Thursday night. He had fled to Rajasthan after the security breach, creating a protest video of Neelam Azad and Amol Shinde outside Parliament. Lalit’s escape route included taking a bus to Nagaur in Rajasthan, meeting friends, and spending a night in a hotel. Realizing he was being searched, he voluntarily came to the police station, leading to his arrest.
The investigation revealed that the security breach was a well-planned attack orchestrated by individuals from different states who met in Mysuru 1.5 years ago. Lalit, being a teacher, assumed a leadership role in the planning. Manoranjan D was tasked with conducting a reconnaissance of the older Parliament building in July, discovering a security loophole where shoes were not checked. Exploiting this vulnerability, they concealed canisters inside specially ordered shoes from Lucknow, which were then fitted by Amol.
Lalit’s family, unaware of his activities, mentioned his association with NGOs and private tutoring. Despite his involvement in the security breach plot, Lalit informed his Bihar-based family members that he was going to Delhi for personal reasons.
