Parliament breach: Security head's post vacant for over 45 days, 40% staff shortage at other levels

Preliminary inquiry into the Parliament security breach has revealed that the position of Joint Secretary (Security), which is responsible for securing the entire Parliament building, has been vacant for the past 45 days, as per reports.

The previous officer, Raghubir Lal, was transferred to his home state UP as Additional Director Generals of Law in early November. In the meantime, a director-level officer, Brijesh Singh, has been temporarily fulfilling the role.

Strikingly, there is a 40 per cent shortage in staff, which is a significant shortage in the Parliament's security establishment, with only 230 personnel currently employed.

Furthermore, it is worth noting that during the recent breach where two individuals released gas inside the Lok Sabha chamber, the smoke alarms did not activate.

Despite the advanced security measures, including artificial intelligence-driven systems, implemented in the new Parliament building, officials have expressed concerns that technology alone cannot replace the need for sufficient manpower.

Additionally, there have been questions raised regarding a reduction of approximately Rs 30 crore in the annual budget allocated to the Parliament complex, reported The Tribune.

Repots indicate that the large number of visitors, particularly those recommended by Members of Parliament, has made it challenging to conduct thorough frisking procedures. The two intruders reportedly exploited this situation.

Another internal issue highlighted is the summoning of lawmakers' vehicles by the secretariat's administration wing instead of the Parliament security staff, leading to coordination problems that could have been avoided.

On the 22nd anniversary of 2001 Parliament attack, the Winter Session was disrupted by two individuals, Sagar Sharma and D Manoranjan, who jumped from the visitors gallery into the Lok Sabha chambers with yellow smoke cannisters.

Six accused in the case have been arrested. Lalit Mohan Jha, a former school teacher, has been named 'key conspirator' by the police and Mahesh Kumawat, his accomplice, who helped him destroy the cellphones to erase evidence, was arrested last day.

It has also been learnt that they were unemployed youth who wished to garner media attention towards their views and create a political outfit.