Six people suspected in Parliament attack, four held: police sources

The Delhi police suspects the involvement of two more people along with the four who have already been held in the Wednesday security breach of Parliament, sources said. All six were known to each other and were staying in a house in Gurugram, they claimed.

Amol Shinde and Neelam — arrested outside Parliament — and Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D — held inside the Lok Sabha chamber — are in police custody. Two more, identified as Lalit and Vikram, and suspected to be their accomplices, are reportedly as yet untraced.

Shinde and Neelam were arrested earlier in the day for protesting outside the Parliament building carrying cans that emitted a yellow and red smoke, police said.

The incident happened minutes after two people jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery and opened canisters that emitted a similar-coloured smoke, triggering panic among the MPs. They were identified as Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D.

Police sources said the four accused knew each other and had two other accomplices, who are yet to be traced. "While four have been held, the fifth has been identified. The two suspects and the four accused stayed in a house in Gurugram and it seems that the incident was planned. No mobile phones have been found on the accused and police are looking for their phones," said a police source.

The incidents came on a day when the nation is observing the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack. Members of Pakistan-based terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed attacked the Parliament complex on this day in 2001, killing nine people.

Karnataka CM expresses shock over LS security breach

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday expressed shock over the Lok Sabha security breach and called for a fair investigation into this "act of violence".

Stating that there is a lapse in the security system, he said it is the duty of the Union government, especially home minister Amit Shah, to carry out a fair investigation and disclose the full details of the incident to the public.

"Attack on the Parliament building is shocking and disturbing and I condemn this act of violence. It is a relief that all the members of the Parliament are safe. Despite the high security, the occurrence of such an incident is indeed a shocking development," Siddaramaiah said.

"If we note that today's attack coincides with the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Parliament 22 years ago (13-12-2001), suspicions arise that there may be other motives behind this. It is worth noting that even during the 2001 attack, there was an NDA government, led by the BJP, in power. This raises several questions about the country's security," he pointed out.