New Delhi | In a major security breach at the Delhi Assembly, a masked man drove an SUV through one of the boundary gates and placed a flower bouquet in the Speaker's vehicle parked on the porch before fleeing, triggering a high alert on Monday afternoon. Police later detained three people, including the driver, and seized the vehicle from north Delhi.
Nothing suspicious was found on the Assembly premises after multiple police teams, along with a bomb disposal squad, conducted a thorough sweep of the area to rule out any threat. Forensic experts also examined the bouquet.
The police said that the detainees were being questioned.
"It is too early to comment on the motive behind the entire incident. Our teams are questioning him. Motive is not clear. But we are investigating the entire matter from every possible angle," a police officer, who requested anonymity, said and mentioned the recent bomb threats sent to the Assembly.
"The entire incident happened very quickly, in just five to seven minutes," the officer said.
The car, bearing an Uttar Pradesh registration number of Pilibhit area, entered the Assembly premises after breaking through Gate No. 2 at around 2 pm, officials said.
Official sources said the car was being driven in a highly reckless manner and was approaching from the Delhi University side. The driver took a sharp left turn, rammed the vehicle into the main gate, broke through the boom barriers and entered the Assembly premises, they said.
The accused placed a bouquet and a garland inside the official vehicle of the Speaker that was parked in the porch of his office in the Assembly premises, the sources said.
Later, the bouquet and the garland were removed and kept near the porch due to suspicion that they may have explosive material, they said.
"It is particularly concerning that the car managed to break through a closed gate and remained parked inside the premises for nearly five minutes without raising any alarm," said Kanchan Azad, Deputy Director, Media head to the Speaker.
He said that there are six gates at the Delhi Vidhan Sabha. Gate No. 2 is designated as the VIP gate and is opened only during important events, while Gate No. 1 and the service gate are used for regular access.
According to sources, since it is not the main gate, one CRPF personnel was deployed at the gate. The security is relatively less around it when the House is not in session.
The police said that the Assembly building has four gates, with Gate 1 being the main entrance gate. Most CRPF personnel are deployed there. Another senior officer said that a total of 22 CRPF personnel and 70 to 80
police personnel are deployed at Vidhan Sabha every day.
The incident raised "serious" security concerns, with authorities treating it as a potential "security breach", a Delhi Secretariat official said.
"Nothing suspicious was found. However, the forensic teams visited the place twice to understand the sequence of the events and to collect evidence from the spot," another police officer said.
Delhi Police Chief Satish Golchha and Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ravindra Yadav reached the site soon after the incident and supervised the investigation.
Yadav said that the police checked CCTV camera footage in and around the area to reconstruct the sequence of events.
"Just after the incident and information from the officers about the incident, alerts were flashed to adjoining states and local police stations, with details of the suspected car.
"Several barricades and pickets were erected on roads in the entire
national capital, and the car was spotted near the Roop Nagar police picket. The car driver was trying to flee by overspeeding, but the alert staff stopped him and detained him," the officer said.
Police sources said that a total of three people were detained and verification of all the suspects was underway.
"Three people have been detained from North Delhi. The car was also seized," a police officer said.
Further investigation into the matter was underway, the police said.
The incident comes close on the heels of bomb threats received by the Assembly during the recently concluded budget session.
