New Delhi: In a major security breach, a car smashed through the gate of the Delhi Assembly on Monday, triggering alarm among staff and security personnel. The masked driver briefly stopped inside, stepped out to place a bouquet near the porch outside Speaker Vijender Gupta’s office, and then fled with the vehicle.
The car — a Tata Sierra with a Uttar Pradesh registration number — entered the complex and remained inside for barely five minutes before exiting through Gate No 2, officials said, as reported by India Today.
Security personnel immediately cordoned off the area and checked the
bouquet left behind. No suspicious object was found in it.
The vehicle and its owner has since been traced, News18 reported. The car is registered in the name of one Sarabjit Singh from Puranpur Tehsil in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh.
The driver has been arrested, sources in the police said.
“We were standing here, near the grip area above. We saw that a car had already entered inside. So we moved to this side and saw that it was a white car. It came directly, broke the gate, and sped away in that direction,” an eyewitness told India Today TV.
“We were all standing here. As soon as the sound was heard, everyone gathered here — even the rickshaw drivers came. What kind of sound was it? Did it break the gate?,” another eyewitness said.
The incident brings back chilling memories of the dreaded 2001 Parliament terror attack in which five heavily armed Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists entered the premises and killed nine people. All the terrorists were also killed by security personnel.