There was a security scare at Parliament premises on Tuesday morning after BJP Member of Parliament Vinod Kumar Sonkar’s car accidentally touched the boom barrier placed at the entrance of the building.
As the car touched the boom barrier, it activated the spikes placed at the gate. The car suffered some damage after the incident.
The security personnel stationed at Parliament immediately took position to thwart any hostile challenge as has been the standard operating procedure since the 2001 Parliament attack.
A similar incident was reported in February last year when Congress Lok Sabha MP from Manipur Dr Thokchom Meinya’s car rammed a barricade at Parliament premises. The car got stuck on the security spikes and set off the security siren. The MP was not in the car when the incident took place.
In December 2018, a similar incident had led to a security alert after a taxi had rammed the barricading pole at an entry point. The security siren was set off when the Toyota Innova collided with a pillar at the Parliament entry gate.
Security at Parliament House was upgraded soon after the 2001 suicide attack. The attack had left nine people dead.
Standard response procedures and enhanced security systems along with better-trained manpower carrying sophisticated weapons, new detector gadgets, sniffer dogs and armoured vehicles were also brought in.
The December 13, 2001, attack took place when five men of a suicide squad drove into the 6-acre Parliament complex. The attackers were armed with AK-47s with multiple magazines, grenades and other explosives.
The gun battle, which lasted barely 20 minutes, had left nine people dead. Of the five attackers, four were shot and killed, while the fifth one had blown himself up on the main steps of the building.
