New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday extended the police custody of Lalit Jha, the alleged mastermind behind the parliament security breach, by another two weeks, till January 5.
The Delhi Police Special Cell, which is probing the security breach case, sought Jha’s custody for 14 days under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which allows for thirty-day custody as a maximum period.
Jha was produced before additional sessions judge (ASJ) Hardeep Kaur after his seven days of initial police custody ended on Friday.
He was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell late on December 14 following his surrender at the Kartavya Path police station. According to the police, Jha, a resident of Kolkata, is a teacher by profession.
Special public prosecutor Akhand Pratap Singh submitted that the special cell retrieved burned mobile phones, sim cards and other material evidence, which the police refrained from disclosing, citing the sensitive nature of the case.
The investigating agency also submitted that they want to get a psychiatric evaluation done of the accused and have to go through their social media accounts.
The court, after going through the records, sent Jha to further police custody till January 5.
The breach was allegedly made possible by an unlikely conspiracy stitched together by an e-rickshaw driver in Lucknow, the son of a wage labourer in Latur, a government job aspirant in Jind, an engineering graduate in Mysuru and a tutor from Kolkata after they started interacting as members of a Facebook page dedicated to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
On December 13, while the parliament was in session two accused– Sharma (27), and Manoranjan D (34) – walked past three layers of security before rappelling down from the visitors’ gallery and spraying coloured smoke inside the Lok Sabha, while another accused – Amol Shinde (25) and Neelam Singh (37) – had opened smoke canisters outside the premises shouting slogans.
A case in this regard was registered on the complaint from the Deputy Director (Security) of Parliament.
The court had on Thursday extended the custody of four other accused – Manoranjan D, Sharma, Amol Shinde and Devi – till January 5.
Another accused Mahesh Kumawat was arrested on December 15. Jha is accused of destroying evidence of the conspiracy in the case. All the accused are currently under police custody.
They have been charged under sections 186 (obstructing public servant from discharging public duties), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt assault and wrongful restraint), 153 (giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 34 (acts done by several person in furtherance of common intention) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code and under sections 16 and 18 of UAPA.
