During the eighth day of the winter session of Parliament, the Parliament security breached when two individuals entered the premises, exposing alarming vulnerabilities in the Parliament’s security protocols. The incident happened at approximately 1 pm during the Zero hour, as the House was in session.
Reports reveal that the two young intruders leaped from public gallery number four, donned with visitor passes allegedly issued on the reference of Pratap Simha, Member of Parliament (MP) from Karnataka’s Mysore. The intruders jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery and opened canisters that emitted a yellow-coloured smoke, leading to the adjournment of the House.
Sagar was the name of one of the two intruders who disrupted Parliament’s proceedings. Their two associates were nabbed outside the Parliament. So, they were a gang of four. They are under interrogation. The incident is currently under investigation, focusing on how the suspects managed to enter the Parliament premises with passes linked to the name of BJP MP Pratap Simha.
This breach occurred on a significant day as India commemorated the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack by terrorists associated with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed outfits, which claimed nine lives.
Security procedures for obtaining Parliament visitor passes involve a request submitted in the name of the respective MP. MPs responsible for the passes conduct security checks, scrutinizing visitor credentials. Stringent security measures, including electronic screenings, are then implemented at the Parliament entrance.
Sagar Sharma, one of the intruders, managed to obtain a pass in the name of Pratap Simha, prompting a thorough police investigation. Simultaneously, the police are questioning the detained individuals to ascertain the circumstances surrounding their breach.
Pratap Simha, a 42-year-old BJP MP from Mysore, is the son of late B.E. Gopal Gowda. A prominent figure in Karnataka politics, Simha, a former journalist, is known for his sharp and critical Hindutva politics. He currently serves as the chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Youth Wing in Karnataka.
Simha’s political journey began as a journalist with Vijaya Karnataka newspaper, where he gained fame for his column ‘Bettale Jagattu’ (Naked World). In 2008, he authored a biography on Prime Minister Narendra Modi titled ‘Narendra Modi: Yaaru Thuliyada Haadi’ (Narendra Modi: The Untrodden Road).