Parliament Intruders: Know who they are

Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D., Neelam Azad, and Amol Shinde, the four intruders who caused a ruckus both inside and outside the Parliament on the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 terror attacks have been charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on Thursday. The miscreants have stated that they launched the attack with the motive to draw the attention of the Union Government to issues such as unemployment, Manipur violence, and inflation.

As per reports, all four of the offenders were members of a closed Facebook group called “Bhagat Singh Fan Club.” Divided over diverse social and cultural backgrounds, the disgruntled youth were bonded together on their resolve to make a statement over the Government’s alleged failure to ensure the welfare of the masses. The intruders were heard chanting slogans such as “Tanasahi bandh karo” (Stop this dictatorship), and “Bharat Mata ki jai” while carrying out their acts of defiance.

Sagar Sharma
A resident of Lucknow, 27-year-old Sagar Sharma is one of the intruders who stormed into the Lok Sabha and jumped into the chamber from the visitors’ gallery, and hurled yellow-colored smoke canisters. An e-rickshaw driver by profession, Sagar Sharma lives with his parents and sister. An ardent follower of Bhagat Singh, Sharma’s social media profiles are flooded with posts captioned with quotes from the freedom fighter and Marxist leader Che-Guevara. Before leaving his house, en-route Delhi, Sagar had informed his parents that he was going to the national capital to participate in protests. On the day the intruders attacked the Parliament, Sagar was seen jumping over desks in the house, moving towards the Speaker when he was pinned down to the floor by some MPs before being handed over to the police.

Manoranjan D.
One of the two intruders who had barged into the Lok Sabha, and hurled colored smoke bombs inside the chamber from the visitors’ gallery, 34-year-old Manoranjan holds a bachelor's degree in computer engineering. He had approached BJP MP Pratap Simha for a visitor's passes for himself and Sagar Sharma under the pretext of wishing to see the new Parliament building. Devaraje Gowda, Manoranjan’s father has openly condemned his Son’s actions and said that the Parliament is a temple that has been graced by leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, and his son should be “hanged” if he has done anything wrong.

Neelam Azad
Utterly frustrated with the Government’s alleged failure to create job opportunities for the youth of this country, Neelam Azad was seen deploying red and yellow-colored smoke bombs outside the Parliament to draw the attention of the parliamentarians to issues such as unemployment and inflation. Holder of an M.Phil degree, Neelam, 37, failed to secure a teaching job even after cracking the National Eligibility Test. "She is very qualified but wasn't getting a job. She was so stressed because of this that she often used to say that she should just die as, despite studying so much, she was unable to earn enough for two square meals," said Neelam’s mother. As is deducible from Neelam’s social media posts, she actively participated in protest rallies, was present in the 2021 farmers' protest, and stood in support of the protesting wrestlers against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh.

Amol Shinde
The 25-year-old army aspirant was seen hurling smoke bombs outside the Parliament with Neelam Azad. Amol Shinde, the son of a farm laborer harbored a deep-seated desire to serve the nation. A resident of Latur, Maharastra, Shinde failed to clear the police and army recruitment exams even after repeated attempts.

All four of the offenders have been apprehended by the Delhi police and have been charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. In addition, Vicky Sharma and his wife have also been arrested by the police for giving shelter to the miscreants in their house and providing them with logistical help. The police are now looking for the alleged mastermind of the Parliament security, Lalit Jha who is on the run. Jha had allegedly fled the scene of crime after chaos ensued outside Parliament, following the deployment of smoke bombs by Neelam Azad and Amol Shinde. Jha taped Azad and Shinde hurling smoke bombs, sent the video clip to an NGO founder, and asked him to keep it safe and ensure that the video clip gets maximum media attention.