Major security breach shakes Delhi Assembly
In a major security breach at the Delhi Assembly on Monday, an SUV broke through multiple layers of security, defaced the Speaker’s car and fled the premises before the police could react.
A masked man driving a Tata Sierra car with a Uttar Pradesh registration number broke through Gate No 2 of the Delhi Assembly at around 2pm. The man directly drove to the office of Speaker Vijender Gupta, placed a flower bouquet near the porch and threw ink on the Speaker’s official car before fleeing. The Speaker was present in his office when the incident happened.
“The entire incident happened very quickly, in just five to seven minutes The car, bearing an Uttar Pradesh registration number of Pilibhit area, entered the Assembly premises after breaking through highly secured Gate No. 2 at around 2 pm,” a police official said.
Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ravindra Yadav reached the assembly premises shortly after the incident and personally supervised the investigation. “Police checked CCTV camera footage in and around the area to reconstruct the sequence of events. Teams were formed to track down the vehicle and its occupants. Alerts were flashed to adjoining states,” Yadav said.
Three people were detained, including the driver who placed the bouquet near the porch. The vehicle was seized in North Delhi. Police identified the driver as Sarabjit Singh, using CCTV footage from the site. According to police, Sarabjit is a resident of Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh. The identities of the other two detained persons have not been officially disclosed.
A bomb disposal team was called to the spot as a precautionary measure. No bomb-like object was found. According to officials, the car rammed through iron barricades at Gate No. 2, which is not the main entrance to the complex.
Sources said that security around this gate was relatively light at the time, since the House was not in session. The CRPF was deployed at the VIP gate. “The driver proceeded towards the office of Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta and placed a flower bouquet near the porch before retreating,” a Delhi Secretariat official said.
Authorities are now reviewing whether the act was deliberate or a case of reckless driving, though the sequence: a masked driver, a bouquet, ink thrown on the Speaker’s vehicle, a planned exit, strongly points toward intent.
The incident has raised serious questions about the complex’s security preparedness. The Delhi Assembly had already been under heightened security following a bomb threat received via email on March 25, during the recently concluded Budget Session. That message had claimed that 16 RDX-based improvised explosive devices had been planted within the premises, prompting immediate checks by law enforcement agencies.
Monday’s breach now raises the stakes further. The car broke through not one but multiple layers of security: barricades, the gate itself, before reaching the inner zone of the complex where the Speaker’s office is located. That a vehicle could penetrate this far, at a constitutional institution in the heart of the national capital, without being intercepted, is a question that security agencies will be pressed to answer.
Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golchha also visited the Delhi Assembly premises to get the first hand briefing from his subordinates. The motive behind the act remains under examination.
