Parliament security breach mastermind Lalit Jha burned mobile phones in attempt to destroy evidence

Delhi’s Patiala House Court on Thursday granted seven days of custodial remand of all four accused persons arrested in connection with the Parliament security breach matter.

Lalit Jha, the fifth accused and mastermind in Parliament security breach case, has burnt the mobile phones of his associates along with his friend Mahesh after fleeing to Rajasthan’s Kuchaman, said police sources.

Ahead of the incident, all four accused had handed over their mobile phones to Jha, so that crucial investigation details cannot get into police hands as they were anticipating their arrest.

In Kuchaman, Jha met his friend Mahesh, who got him a room for the night. Both of them had met through Facebook, as revealed by Jha during his interrogation.

However, Delhi police are verifying all the claims made by Jha. Jha was also present outside the parliament and captured the video of two of his accomplices with the intent to publicise it.

Ahead of Jha’s arrest, with the help of technical surveillance, police first detained Mahesh’s cousin Kailash, who told them that Mahesh and Lalit had gone to Delhi. Later, when Jha returned, he was arrested.

According to the Delhi Police, “Lalit Jha came to the police station on his own, after which the police arrested him and started the interrogation.”

Meanwhile, Delhi’s Patiala House Court on Thursday granted seven days of custodial remand of all four accused persons arrested in connection with the Parliament security breach matter.

Additional Sessions Judge Dr Hardeep Kaur on Thursday allowed all four accused Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde and Neelam Devi to Mumbai, Mysore, and Lucknow to probe and find actual motives behind their act. According to the Delhi Police, the accused persons had purchased special shoes from Lucknow and canisters from Mumbai.

This was a well-planned conspiracy and attack on the Parliament of India. Police lawyers further submitted that the accused carried a pamphlet, declared Prime Minister Narendra Modi a missing person and said the person who found him would be paid money from the Swiss Bank.

The accused persons showed the Prime Minister like a proclaimed offender. Police informed the court that it had registered the FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and had also added sections of stringent 16 (terrorism) and 18 (conspiracy for terrorism) of the UAPA Act.