One Of 2 Men Who Set Off Smoke Canisters In Lok Sabha Is Mastermind: Police

The Delhi Police Special Cell suspects Manoranjan D - one of the six arrested in parliament security breach - to be the mastermind of the conspiracy hatched to send a message to the ruling government by doing "something big", said a source privy to the probe.

According to the police, Lalit Jha, another accused, revealed to the interrogators that Manoranjan D motivated others to do something big, planned the parliament breach, and that Mr Jha was tasked with destroying evidence after the act.

Manoranjan D was arrested along with Sagar from inside parliament on December 13. The two jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber and set off the smoke canisters they hid in their shoes.

A native of Mysore, Manoranjan D quit engineering to engage in social work. Despite being without a job, he managed to visit Cambodia, the source said.

Mr Jha was produced before the court on Friday that sent him to police custody for 14 days. The police told the court they needed to confront Mr Jha with other accused and collect scientific and digital evidence related to the case.

According to the source, Lalit Jha told the police that Manoranjan D had arranged for them to visit Mysore a year ago. He had sent them their tickets on WhatsApp.

The doctors are conducting psychoanalysis tests on all six, another officer said.

The accused were taken to a forensic lab for the test that will help interrogators ascertain their mental condition, the officer said.

According to the police, the accused revealed they were upset with the unemployment situation, the farmers' issue, and the Manipur crisis.

They are yet to reveal the proper sequence and reason behind their act inside and outside parliament, the police said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)