Police investigating the Parliament ‘security breach have found pieces of broken and charred cell phones in Nagaur, Rajasthan, a senior officer has said. Delhi Police made a sixth arrest in this connection yesterday. The police is also investigating the involvement of a person from West Bengal to whom, chief accused Mr. Jha sent a video of the December 13 incident.
According to a senior officer, Mr. Jha and his associates burnt and destroyed the cell phones of all the accused to destroy any evidence that could shed light on their “plot”.
Also Read | Intruders in Parliament
Hideout
The broken cell phones were recovered after the police took Mr. Jha to Nagaur on Saturday, the officer added. The tutor from Kolkata had allegedly taken shelter in Nagaur, with the help of his associates Mahesh Kumawat and his cousin, Kailash Kumawat, after fleeing from the Capital on Wednesday.
The police have added sections of the Indian Penal Code related to destruction of evidence and conspiracy against Mr. Kumawat, who was arrested on Saturday. Apart from section 16 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and criminal conspiracy of the IPC, the police has also booked Mr. Jha under section 201 of IPC (destruction of evidence), said a senior officer.
The police is now investigating the role of another resident of West Bengal to whom Mr. Jha allegedly sent videos of the Parliament security breach on Wednesday. According to sources, the ‘main’ conspirator shared the video of the Parliament breach with multiple people.
Also Read | Terror charges invoked in Parliament security breach case
In the four days since the security breach, the police have arrested six persons: Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Shinde, Neelam Devi, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat. While Mr. Manoranjan and Mr. Sharma released yellow smoke from canisters inside Parliament, Mr. Shinde and Ms. Devi released coloured smoke and sloganeered outside the building.
Mr. Jha recorded the entire incident from outside the gate and allegedly shared it with multiple people, police said. He later fled to Nagaur, Rajasthan with the help of Mr. Kumawat and his cousin where they allegedly destroyed the cell phones of all the accused. While those in Parliament were detained on Wednesday, Mr Jha and Mr. Kumawat surrendered on Friday. Subsequently Mr. Jha was arrested on the same day and after ascertaining the role played by Kumawat, he was arrested on Saturday.
