Parliament security breach: Soft-spoken tutor Lalit Jha ‘never talked politics’, was looking for job | India News

KOLKATA: Hatiara has been in shock over the discovery that the neighbourhood’s soft-spoken private tutor is the alleged mastermind of Wednesday’s smoke canister attack in Parliament. Lalit Jha, who still has a rented accommodation in the area, had left Kolkata along with his family on December 10, just days before the security breach.
“Lalit did not speak much.Neither did his parents. They were like our other quiet and peace-loving neighbours. His parents informed me before leaving for Bihar and said Lalit would pay the rent till they come back,” said their landlady, Shefali Sardar.
The family had rented the small first-floor flat in Hatiara three years ago. Lalit started tutoring and also worked at a local school for a few months. However, he had been unemployed for the last few months; locals had once spotted him selling vegetables nearby.
“Sometimes he would come to my shop and ask for a cup of tea. He would drink it silently and have a smoke before leaving. I never heard him discussing politics,” said a local tea stall owner.

Hemanta Dey, who lived a floor below the Jhas, said: “At times his father would lament that despite having a bachelor’s degree in science, he could not manage to get a job. I heard him saying that Lalit was trying hard to find work.”
Shambhu Jha, who works at a garment showroom in Burrabazar, seemed clueless about the plot hatched by his brother. “Ask anyone in Burrabazar and they will not believe that Lalit can be involved in such a thing. He still has students here. Only he can say who had an influence on him,” Shambhu said. “I got to know about the incident from a friend. He never discussed politics at home or anyone in the family. I didn’t even know he was going to Delhi.”
On December 10, Lalit’s parents and younger brother Sonu left home early in the afternoon. “They were going to their ancestral place in Bihar. Lalit accompanied them to the railway station and came back. Later, in the evening, I saw him going out with a bag. When I asked, he said he was going to New Delhi for a few days,” said Dey, adding that this was not suspicious as Lalit would often go out of station. “He had gone to Delhi before Durga Puja this year. We thought that he was looking for a job there,” another neighbour said.
Meanwhile, the father of Lalit’s alleged associate Nilaksha Aich refused to talk to reporters. “I have been instructed not to speak to the media by Delhi Police. They called me this morning,” Nilay Aich said.
Watch Parliament security breach: Main conspirator Lalit Mohan Jha arrested by Delhi Police