The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has taken over the security of Indian Parliament (Sansad Bhawan) after the incident when 2 miscreants on 13 Dec 2023 entered the Lok Sabha with gas canisters.
The parliament security was earlier being handled by the Delhi Police Special Cell.
CISF is one of the 7 paramilitary organizations under the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) headed by the Indian Home Minister.
What is CISF?
CISF or the Central Industrial Police Force is the law enforcement and security organization responsible to protect critical industrial and public infrastructure such as mines, oil fields, atomic power, ISRO, DRDO, steel plants, etc. Typically they operate with other law enforcement agencies such as State Industrial Security Forces and local police.
It was setup under the CISF act of the Indian Parliament on 15 March 1969. Later it was categorized as an armed force under Act 14 of 1983.
As of December 2023, it has a sanctioned strength of 1,80,000 personnel.
The recent incident of gas attack in the Indian Parliament on 13 Dec 2023 reminds us of a parliament attack. Then on 13 Dec 2001, 5 terrorists trained from Pakistan attacked the Indian Sansad Bhawan (Parliament). The incident resulted in the deaths of 8 Indian security personnel, one gardener, and all the 5 attackers. The injured personnel which included press, officers and security staff were 18 in number.
This attack triggered a military standoff between India and Pakistan in 2002 with an eventual disengagement in
Aim of the Attack
As per an interview of Afzal Guru, the aim of the attack was to cause maximum damage to the MPs present inside the parliament.
Chronology of the Events
13 Dec 2001: Five terrorist enter parliament compound in a car marked as Home Minister.
15 Dec 2001: Delhi Police Arrest Afzal Guru from J&K, Syed Geelani from his house in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi, Shaukat was arrested later from Srinagar and his wife Afsan too.
29 Dec 2001: Afzal sent to a 10 Day Police remand
4 June 2002: Charges framed
16 and 18 Dec 2002: Trial court gives death sentence to all except Afsan, who received 5 years imprisonment
30 Aug 2003: Ghazi Baba, the mastermind of the attacks was killed in a clash with BSF
29 Oct 2003: Delhi High Court upholds trial court judgement
4 Aug 2005: Supreme Court upholds the judgement of Delhi High Court, commuted Shaukat’s death sentence to 10 years imprisonment.
26 Sep 2006: Delhi High Court orders Afzal to be hanged
3 Oct 2006: Tabasum (wife of Afzal) files mercy petition
12 Jan 2007: Afzal’s plea seeking review of death sentence is rejected by Supreme Court due to no merit
19 May 2010: Delhi Govt receinves Afzal’s mercy petition
30 Dec 2010: Shaukat released from Tihar jail
10 Dec 2012: Shushil Shinde (Home Minister) says he will examine Afzal’s petition
26 Jan 2013, President P Mukherjee rejects mercy petition
9 Feb 2013: Afzal hanged in Tihar Jail
Trial and Judgement of 2001 Parliament Attacks
A designated court for the Parliament Attack was constituted which was presided by the Judge S.N. Dhingra.
The 3 main perpetrators of the attack received death sentences.
Mohammed Afzal (Guru)
Shaukat Hassan
Syed Abdul Raza Geelani
Another accused Navjot Sandhu (Afsan Guru, Shaukat’s wife) was acquitted of all charges except under Sec 123 IPC and was convicted. She received 5 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine also was imposed.
On Wednesday, December 13, 2023, two individuals, one male and one female threw “yellow and red gas bombs” inside the parliament when a discussion was going on. The two individuals who were spotted with the gas bombs were nabbed by the Police.
Parliament Attack 2023 Source Zee News Live
Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the perpetrators were nabbed by MPs first and then by security forces. MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla was one of the MPs who acted bravely and nabbed the perpetrators.
It is alleged that idea was to disrupt the proceedings or make a media stunt. However, it was still a grievous security lapse.
How did they enter?
There was a pass issued by Lok Sabha MP from Mysore, Pratap Simha for Sagar Sharma. The protestors entered the parliament through visitors gallery.
Yet, this was a grevious security lapse as the yellow gas bomb which they carried might have been poisonous and could have caused more damage than the 2001 Parliament attacks.
Police Response
Perpetrators were arrested and later brought to Parliament Street police station in Delhi.
Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora reached the parliament after the attack.
CRPF SG Anish Dayal Singh also arrived at the Parliament in late afternoon.
FSL Teams have also arrived at the incident.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said 4 people were being investigated.
It later came out that there were 6 people involved and 5 of them stayed at a place in Gurugram before entering Delhi.
The Perpetrators of 2023 Parliament Attack
2023 Parliament Security Incident Perpetrators
Five of the 6 perpetrators came from outside of Delhi and stayed at one place in Gurugram before proceeding to Delhi. The house allegedly belongs to Lalit Jha, who is assumed as the master planner of the incident.
They entered the Parliament from the guest pass of Mysore MP Pratap Simha. The pass was issued to Sagar Sharma,
1. Amol Shinde, 25, from Latur, Maharashtra
It was reported that Amol Shinde was an army aspirant and was depressed because of his failure to join the army.
He hailed from Zari village, Chakur Tehsil, District Latur. Amol is the youngest of 4 siblings.
Before going to Delhi, he said to his parents that he was going for a recruitment drive.
2. Sagar Sharma, Lucknow
Sagar Sharma, a resident of Lucknow who was a part-time e-rickshaw driver was the one who jumped inside the parliament and was later nabbed my MPs.
3. Neelam, Hisar, Haryana,
The woman, Neelam, who was one of the attackers was heard shouting “Samvidhaan Bachao” or save the constitution which has been a narrative of opposition parties. She was also seen sloganeering vaguely on a lot of issues related to women, Manipur, dictatorship, etc.
Earlier, Neelam has been witnessed asking votes from Congress. She also has been an active participant in several protests which is termed as Andolan Jeevi (आंदोलन जीवी) , or people who thrive on protests.
जो 60 वर्षीय नेता को युवा नेता मानते हैं उनके समर्थक 42 वर्षीय स्टूडेंट ही होंगे
वैसे संसद में सुरक्षा उल्लंघन कर घुसने वाली नीलम आजाद आंदोलन जीवी दिहाडी है। जो बीजेपी विरोधी है। pic.twitter.com/QqGUuSvVg4
— Sumita Bhinchar, MAKRANA (मोदी का परिवार) (@SumitaBhinchar) December 13, 2023
They were arrested and later brought to Parliament Street police station in Delhi.
4. Manoranjan D, Engineer, Mysore
Manoranjan was the one who jumped into the parliament along with Sagar Sharma.
5. Lalit Mohan Jha
Lalit Mohan Jha, a co-conspirator of the incident was arrested by Delhi Police on 14 Nov 2023. It was his house where 5 of the 6 perpetrators met before executing the indicent.
The incident reminds us of a parliament attack in 2001 when on 13 Dec 2001, terrorists trained from Pakistan attacked the Indian Sansad Bhawan. The incident resulted in the deaths of 4 Indians, and all the 5 attackers. The injured personnel which included press, officers and security staff were 18 in number.
This attack triggered a military standoff between India and Pakistan in 2002.
Trial and Judgement of 2001 Parliament Attacks
The 3 main perpetrators of the attack received death sentences.
Afzal Guru
Shaukat Hassan
SAR Geelani
Another accused Navjot Sandhu was acquitted of all charges except under Sec 123 IPC and was convicted. She received 5 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine also was imposed.
