Parl intruders considered self-immolation as an option

The five accused arrested in the December 13 Parliament security breach case have revealed they explored the idea of self-immolation after applying fire-resistent gel on their body to create more dramatic scenes without hurting themselves and get media attention, Delhi Police officials said on Saturday.

However, they later dropped this idea, settling on the plan to jump into the Lok Sabha chamber with smoke canisters, they said.

The Delhi Police Special Cell, which is investigating the case, also plans to record the statement of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pratap Simha, who had authorised the visitor passes for the two men who breached security to enter the House.

Two men -- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D -- had jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans, before being overpowered by the MPs.

Around the same time, two others -- Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi -- released coloured smoke from canisters while shouting 'tanashahi nahi chalegi' outside the Parliament premises.

Lalit Jha, the fifth accused, allegedly circulated videos of the protest outside the complex on social media.

"Before finalising this plan (to jump into the Lok Sabha chamber), they (accused) had explored certain ways that could be impactful in sending their message to the government," a Delhi Police official aware of the investigations told PTI.

Said an official, "They wanted to explore immolating themselves by covering their bodies with fireproof gel so that they don't get hurt. By doing this drama, they wanted to get media attention. Later, they dropped this idea. However, the reason to drop this idea is not known yet."

They also considered distributing pamphlets inside the Parliament but finally went ahead with the plan they executed on Wednesday, the official said.

Late on Friday, the investigators took the accused to various places where they met and conspired on the breach.

The police are likely to seek Parliament's permission to recreate the breach that occurred on the anniversary of the 2001 attacks.

Sources said the investigators have also not given a clean chit to Mahesh Kumwat and Kailash -- who allegedly helped Jha escape.

The police will soon take Jha to Nagaur in Rajasthan where he stayed after fleeing on Wednesday.

He will be taken to the place where he claimed to have destroyed his and others' mobile phones, another official said.

All five arrested accused have been sent to seven days' police custody.