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In 2007, demonstrations in parts of the city, particularly in minority-dominated areas, escalated into law-and-order disturbances.
The 2023 Parliament security breach case witnessed a major development after the Delhi Police Special Cell filed a nearly 14,000-page fourth supplementary chargesheet before the Patiala House Court, invoking serious offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the accused in connection with the dramatic breach inside and outside Parliament premises.
The latest filing focuses on allegations related to terrorist acts, criminal conspiracy, provocation to cause riots and destruction of evidence under the UAPA and various provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
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The supplementary chargesheet, consisting of 13,967 pages, was taken on record during proceedings held on Thursday before Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal. According to the prosecution, the chargesheet was filed under Sections 186, 353, 153, 452, 201, 34 and 120B of the IPC along with Sections 13, 16 and 18 of the UAPA.
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During the hearing, the accused Neelam Prajapati alias Neelam Azad and Mahesh Kumawat appeared before the court while on bail. Accused Manoranjan D., Amol Dhanraj alias Amol, Sagar Sharma and Lalit Jha were produced physically from judicial custody.
SI Amit Bhati appeared on behalf of the Investigating Officer, ACP Dharmender, and formally submitted the supplementary chargesheet before the court. Copies of the documents were supplied to all accused persons and their legal representatives through pen drives due to the extensive volume of records.
Counsel representing accused Neelam Azad and Amol Dhanraj opposed the filing of the supplementary chargesheet at the current stage of proceedings. The defence argued that introducing such a voluminous document while arguments on framing of charges were already in progress amounted to a misuse of legal procedure. The defence also requested hard copies of the chargesheet for examination.
The prosecution informed the court that one hard copy set would be provided to the defence counsel during the next hearing. The court subsequently directed the investigating agency to furnish hard copies and listed the matter for scrutiny of documents and further proceedings on May 29.
According to investigators, the latest supplementary chargesheet contains allegations linked to obstruction of public servants from carrying out official duties, incitement connected to riots, destruction of evidence and offences associated with terrorist activities under the UAPA.
The case relates to the major security breach that occurred on December 13, 2023, inside and outside Parliament on the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack.
During the incident, accused Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D. allegedly jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors’ gallery while proceedings were underway and released yellow smoke from canisters, triggering panic among MPs and officials before they were restrained by security personnel and members of Parliament.
At the same time, accused Neelam Azad and Amol allegedly released coloured smoke and raised slogans outside the Parliament complex.
Investigators have earlier alleged that Lalit Jha played a central role in the conspiracy and fled with the mobile phones of the co-accused after the breach in an alleged attempt to destroy evidence connected to the case.
The Delhi Police Special Cell is continuing its probe into the alleged larger conspiracy behind the breach, including the planning, coordination and communication among the accused persons.
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