The two men at the heart of the Parliament security breach had pamphlets they wanted to give Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who was not present – police told a Delhi court this evening. The intruders, including the two from outside Parliament, also had a pamphlet calling the PM a “missing person” and offering a cash reward from a Swiss bank for relevant information, the cops claimed.

The four intruders – Sagar Sharma, D Manoranjan, Neelam Devi, and Amol Shinde – were arrested minutes after the smoke scare yesterday, and produced before a Delhi court today. A fifth person – Vicky Sharma, at whose Gurugram home the others met – and his wife were detained. They were released late this evening.

A sixth person – Lalit Jha from Bihar, believed to be the mastermind – is on the run.

The police sought custody for 15 days, arguing they needed time to take the four to Mumbai (where the smoke canisters were bought) and Lucknow (where shoes used to smuggle the canisters were bought), as well as uncover possible “terrorist” angles. The police also suggested more people may have been involved in the smoke attack “because a common man cannot work with such planning”.

READ | 4 Accused In Parliament Security Breach Sent To Police Custody For 7 Days

The police also told the court the motives of those involved are, so far, unclear. Yesterday, the four who popped the canisters reportedly told police they wanted to highlight issues like joblessness and the ethnic violence in Manipur, and that they wanted to bring these to MPs’ attention.

The court, however, only ordered seven-day custody of the accused, who face charges under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA and multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Earlier today, police sources told NDTV the mastermind – Jha, who hails from Bihar and was a teacher in Kolkata till the incident yesterday – had last been seen near Neemrana in Rajasthan.

READ | Breach Mastermind Last Seen In Rajasthan, He Fixed Date, Filmed Smoke Scare

Jha, who was also supposed to be inside Parliament but did not get a visitor’s pass, instead filmed the protest outside and uploaded it online before fleeing. He also grabbed the others’ mobile phones before he fled. Police believe there may be evidence on those devices, which Jha might try to erase.

Parliament resumed today but there were multiple adjournments as opposition MPs protested the security breach and demanded statements from either the PM or Home Minister Amit Shah. 

Fourteen opposition lawmakers – 13 from the Lok Sabha – have been suspended for the rest of the Winter Session, prompting further outrage. Also, the protesting politicians have criticised the governemnt for having taken no action, so far, against the MP who issued passes to the intruders.

READ | “Does BJP Understand Democracy?” DMK’s Kanimozhi After 14 MPs Suspended

Mysuru MP Prathap Simha met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla last evening to explain that his office had only issued a request for passes and had no further information about what was to come.

Meanwhile, as of last night, Parliament security protocols have been revamped and tightened. Visitors have, for now, been banned from entry, and that of non-essential staff has been controlled.

The smoke scare yesterday came on the 22nd anniversary of a terrorist strike on the old Parliament building, in which nine people, including eight security staff, were killed. Five terrorists were eliminated.

Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra’s challenge to her expulsion from parliament will be heard by the Supreme Court tomorrow.

A Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SV Bhatti will hear Ms Moitra’s request to restore her Lok Sabha membership.

Ms Moitra has accused the parliamentary ethics committee that looked into cash-for-query allegations against her and recommended her expulsion of “breaking every rule”.

The ethics committee submitted the report in parliament on December 8 after weeks of cross-examining all the people involved in the matter, including the complainants lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai and BJP leader Nishikant Dubey.

Ms Moitra has alleged the committee “broke every rule” in how they handled the matter.

The Trinamool Congress leader has called Mr Dehadrai, who filed the complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), her “jilted ex”.

Following the complaint, Mr Dubey had led the call to investigate the allegation that Ms Moitra gave her parliament login ID to businessman Darshan Hiranandani to target the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

Lalit Jha, the alleged mastermind of the security breach in parliament that shocked the nation, has surrendered. Sources said he had gone to the police station on Kartavya Path (the boulevard renamed ‘Path of Duty’ in the heart of Delhi) and surrendered. He has been formally arrested and the New Delhi District Police has handed him over to the Special Cell.

The Kolkata-based teacher was arrested from Delhi after being on the run for nearly two days.

Sources said the man claimed that he had gone by bus to Rajasthan’s Nagaur via Neemrana — where he he was seen last — and stayed at a hotel with two friends. Later, when he realised that the police were looking for him, he came back. At the police station today, he was accompanied by one Mahesh, sources said.

Four persons were arrested for yesterday afternoon’s security breach in which two men — Sagar and Manoranjan — smuggled in smoke bombs and let them during the Lok Sbaha proceedings. Two others, Neelam Devi and Amol Shinde, who have been unable to get a pass, held a protest outside the parliament building, shouting slogans and waving smoke canisters, before they were caught.

Lalit Jha, who also did not get a visitors’ pass, recorded it on his cellphone and uploaded it on social media. He also passed on a copy to a Kolkata-based associate who runs a non-profit, investigators said.

The motive of the unprecedented “smoke protest”, investigators said, was to highlight the growing unemployment, plight of farmers, and the situation in Manipur. The group wanted a discussion on these matters in parliament and thought it would be a flashy way to draw attention. The group were part of a Facebook page called “Fans of Bhagat Singh”.

Investigators also said off the record that there appeared to be no organised terror group behind the plot.

In the court, though, the Delhi Police earlier said the matter needs further investigation while seeking two week’s custody of the four people arrested. The accused have been charged under the anti-terror law UAPA and sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The police contended that the whole operation resembled a terror attack and questioned the motive.

“Was the purpose of the incident only to express one’s point or to carry out some major incident? It has to be investigated whether any terrorist organisation is involved in this entire issue,” they told the court.

The court has allowed them a week’s time.