NEW DELHI: A major security breach was reported from the Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament on Wednesday (December 13).
Two persons, who were seated at the visitors’ gallery, jumped into the chamber of the Lok Sabha and released a yellowish smoke.
According to MPs, who were attending the proceedings at the Lok Sabha, the two men released an “unidentified, yellow colour gas”.
The gas “caused burning sensation in the nose”, MP Arvind Sawant said.
The Man who jumped inside the Indian Parliament and threw a smoke canister has been identified as Sagar Sharma.
As per his Parliament Pass, he was recommended for Parliament entry by MP Pratap Simha from Mysore.
Furthermore, two other individuals – a man and a woman – were detained outside the Parliament.
The two detained individuals also carried with them coloured smoke canisters that exploded and spewed red and yellow smoke.
According to Delhi police sources, both the incidents are likely to be related.
The detained man and woman have been identified as Amol Shinde (25) and Neelam (42).
Notably, the security breach came on the 22nd anniversary of the terror attack on the old Parliament building.
Six Delhi police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel, and a gardener were killed in the 2001 Parliament terror attack.
All the assailants were killed by security forces.
What Happened?
MP Arvind Sawant said that two men jumped from the visitors’ gallery into the Lok Sabha and then jumped from bench to bench to get ahead.
He added that the men released an “unidentified, yellow colour gas that caused burning sensation in the nose”.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said: “One person leapt over the benches of the Lok Sabha while another was seen dangling from the public gallery spraying some tear gas when Zero Hour was in progress.”
“This is certainly a security breach because today we observed the death anniversary of people who sacrificed their lives in the 2001 (Parliament attack),” Chowdhury said.
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said, “Saw two young men unleash foul smelling yellow coloured gas from canisters inside Parliament gallery. MPs rushed to grab these men. One person was raising some slogans. This raises serious questions on another aspect of the new Parliament building – security.”
Meanwhile, both the men have been apprehended and taken away by security forces for interrogation.