How Parliament Breach Accused Destroyed Key Evidence At Rajasthan Village

Hours after four persons were arrested for the shocking breach in Parliament security last Wednesday, one of their associates was in Rajasthan's Nagaur to destroy critical evidence in the case.

The Delhi Police investigation has found that Lalit Jha, alleged mastermind of the security breach, reached Rajasthan's Nagaur - about 450 km from Delhi - after the incident. There, he met Mahesh Kumawat who lodged him at a small hotel in Trishangaya village. 

On the night of December 13, when the security breach took place, Lalit and Mahesh approached a fire, apparently to get some relief from the biting cold. They then threw the phones of the four Parliament trespassers into the flames, destroying key evidence. Lalit had reportedly collected the phones of the four trespassers before the incident. He also allegedly shot videos of the incident and sent them to an acquaintance in West Bengal, seeking media coverage. 

Police have now found burnt parts of the phones from near the hotel. Mahesh and Lalit are among six people arrested in the case so far.

Bhanwar Lal, owner of the hotel, said it was only when police came to him that he realised how his hotel was linked to the incident that shocked the nation. "I know Mahesh Kumawat by his name, but I do not have any other information about him. Police took with them burnt parts (of phones)," he said, adding that he had no clue about what the accused had done when they came to his hotel.

Police are yet to recover the phone of Lalit Jha, who reportedly returned to Delhi after destroying the phones and was arrested soon after.

In the massive security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 attack on Parliament, two intruders -- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D -- jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery. They then went from desk to desk and deployed coloured smoke from canisters. On the same day, their co-accused Neelam Azad and Amol Shinde raised slogans outside Parliament and used coloured smoke.

The four people were arrested soon after and charged under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Over the next couple of days, Mahesh Kumawat and Lalit Jha were arrested.

The accused have said their objective was to draw attention to Manipur violence, unemployment and farmers' issues, but police have said they are investigating all angles to get to the bottom of this.