Parliament security breach: Beniwal, Nagar, Aujla hailed as 'saviours of the day'

Lok Sabha members Hanuman Beniwal, Malook Nagar and Gurjeet Singh Aujla were at the centre of the scene when a group of MPs managed to overpower two persons who jumped into the house chamber and released yellow gas from canisters.

The three MPs were later hailed by their fellow members as "saviours of the day" and some even took selfies with them.

In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack, two persons jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour at around 1.00 pm and released yellow gas from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by the MPs.

Around the same time, two persons, including a woman, also sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting "tanashahi nahi chalegi" outside the Parliament premises. All four have been held by the security forces.

“During Zero Hour, several MPs were present in the House. And all of a sudden, two people jumped down from the public gallery and tried to reach closer to the speaker’s chair, jumping over the benches,” Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) MP Beniwal, who caught one of the two persons with the help of other members, told reporters at the Parliament complex.

“They had kept bomb-like things inside their shoes. When we caught them, they released the gas which created fear among several MPs,” the RLP MP from Rajasthan’s Nagaur added. “This is a big security lapse,” Beniwal said and demanded a through probe into the incident.

Speaking to reporters, Congress MP from Amritsar Aujla said, ”I had just finished raising an issue when two people jumped into the House chamber. One of them was moving towards the chair when Hanuman Beniwal caught him.

“When we rushed to catch the second person, I saw he had something in his hand which he started waving. We snatched it from him and threw it out for the safety of the members as it was releasing a gas. The two protesters were raising slogans like "tanashahi bandh karo (stop dictatorship)... They have given a big message. The government should pay attention," he added.

Recalling the incident, BSP MP Nagar told reporters, “Zero Hour proceeding was on. Then a loud noise came from behind as if someone fell down. Then we saw a person had jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery while another was hanging.

“Then from one side Hanuman Beniwal swung into action and caught one of the two people, while I and other MPs got hold of the other person rushing from the other side.”

The two protesters have been identified as Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D. Sharma had come to the visitors' gallery as a guest of Prathap Simha, BJP MP from Mysuru.

While one was spotted jumping over the benches, the other was left dangling from the gallery before jumping into the chamber, according to several MPs who were present in the house at the time of incident.