Neighbors of Lalit Jha, the alleged mastermind in the Parliament security breach, were surprised to see his images on news channels, recalling him as a reserved individual who seldom engaged with the community at Burrabazar in Kolkata.
Papun Shaw, a tea stall owner at Rabindra Sarani in the Burrabazar area, the business district of the city, identified Jha as a 'teacher' who disappeared two years ago.
Shaw said, "He was known as a teacher, used to teach local students. A few years back, he came to the area and was living alone. He hardly used to interact with locals. At times he would have tea at my stall. He used to keep a very low profile. He suddenly left the area two years ago and never returned."
Four individuals arrested in connection with the security breach in Parliament have been charged under the anti-terror law UAPA, in addition to sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The police sources reported that raids are underway at several locations to apprehend Lalit Jha, suspected to be the key conspirator.
Rajesh Shukla, Jha's neighbour in Burrabazar, said, "He hardly spoke to locals. He used to teach the children at his rented place. We knew that his father was a watchman in the area. They were two brothers."
Two years back, he left the area as they shifted to Baguiati in North 24 Parganas district, he said adding: "We couldn't believe it to be Lalit as he was a nice guy."
The Delhi police special cell has contacted Neelaksh Aich, founder of an NGO, to gather further information about Jha.
Aich revealed that he had met Jha in April this year at a seminar on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Kolkata.
"Some researchers and writers were also there. At times, we spoke about work related to the NGO. Lalit was among the event organizers. Yesterday at around 1 PM, he sent me a video on WhatsApp. After returning home, when I saw the news on TV, I saw it was a video of the same incident," Aich told a Bengali news channel.
The Kolkata connection of Lalit Jha sparked a political debate in the state, with West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar accusing TMC MLA Tapas Roy of being in "convenience" with Jha.
Majumdar shared two photographs of Roy with Jha on X.
He said, "Lalit Jha, the mastermind of the attack on our Temple of Democracy, had been in close association with TMC's Tapas Roy for a long time... Isn't this proof enough for an investigation into the connivance of the leader?"
PTI, however, couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the photographs.
The TMC MLA denied any knowledge of Jha and alleged that the BJP is now trying to shift the goalpost.
"We are public representatives; several people click pictures with us. We don't know everybody in person. The BJP is now trying to shift the blame as they want to divert attention from their failures," he said.
Police have filed terrorism charges against four people arrested after two of them jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber and set off smoke canisters in a major security breach inside Parliament that also led to the suspension of eight Delhi Police personnel.
As more details emerged on what Delhi police said on Thursday was a "well-planned attack on Parliament" a day earlier, police sources said raids are being conducted at several places in the hunt for Lalit Jha, suspected to be the key conspirator.
