A Delhi court remanded Sarabjit Singh, accused of driving an SUV through a barrier at the Delhi Assembly premises on Monday, to eight days of police custody. Police told the court that a terrorist angle could not be ruled out and sought time to investigate. Two security officers were suspended in connection with the breach.
On Monday, 37-year-old Sarabjit Singh drove his SUV through the boom barrier at Gate No. 2 of the Delhi Assembly complex and placed an artificial plant on the porch near Speaker Vijender Gupta's office, where the Speaker was present at the time. CCTV footage showed the accused spending at least five minutes on the premises before driving off. He was arrested nearly two hours later from Roop Nagar.
On Tuesday, Judicial Magistrate First Class Kartik Taparia at Tis Hazari Court remanded Singh to eight days of police custody. Special Public Prosecutor Atul Kumar Srivastava told the court that Singh had tried to run over a CRPF head constable and allegedly threw his mobile phone into a river in Kurukshetra, which is yet to be recovered. Police sought custody to unearth any conspiracy, explore a terror angle, and trace movements in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Singh's family informed police that he was suffering from depression, and he had purchased the SUV used in the incident last month. He had also hired two taxi drivers for Rs 2,000. The judge noted the serious allegations and stated that the accused did not appear mentally incapacitated to understand the consequences of his actions.
Meanwhile, a Sub-Inspector and an Assistant Sub-Inspector from the Assembly's security unit were suspended. "The angle of act of terrorist cannot be ruled out without proper investigation," the Special Public Prosecutor said.