Parliament security breach: Delhi court sends six accused to 14 days judicial custody

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday sent the six accused in the December 13, 2023, Parliament security breach case to to judicial custody till January 27.

Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur of Patiala House Courts sent Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde, Neelam Devi Azad, Lalit Jha, and Mahesh Kumawat to judicial custody as they were produced before the court on expiry of their police custody.

The judge passed the order on an application moved by Delhi Police seeking judicial custody of all the accused as the investigation was ongoing.

During the hearing, Azad alleged that a woman officer had forcibly made her sign over 50 blank papers on the preceding Friday. Special Public Prosecutor Akhand Pratap Singh objected to the allegations, and the court recorded the submissions from both sides.

During the last hearing, five of the six accused, except Azad, gave their consent before the court to undergo polygraph test, as sought by the Delhi Police which had moved an application seeking permission for the test, saying the investigators need to get more details to make the case strong and gather more evidence to unearth the entire conspiracy.

Police had also sought permission to conduct brain mapping and narco test of Manoranjan and Sagar.

The duo had burst yellow smoke canisters inside the Lok Sabha chamber on December 13, the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, after jumping from the visitors’ gallery before they were overpowered by the MPs present in the House. Two others -- Azad and Shinde -- also burst smoke canisters and raised slogans outside Parliament. Jha is believed to be the mastermind of the entire plan, who reportedly fled with the mobile phones of the four others.