White SUV, UP number plate and a bouquet: Breach that exposed gaps in Delhi assembly security

NEW DELHI: A major security scare unfolded at the Delhi Legislative Assembly on Monday afternoon after a white SUV broke through barricades and forced its way into the high-security complex.Officials said the vehicle, bearing a Uttar Pradesh registration number, rammed the iron gate at Gate No 2, a VVIP entry point, around 2 pm, breaching multiple layers of security and triggering panic among staff and security personnel. Eyewitnesses said the car continued moving inside the complex for several minutes. “I saw a white car hit the gate and enter. It kept moving inside for about five minutes. When a security guard ran towards it, the driver sped out,” one witness said to news agency ANI.In a bizarre twist, the masked driver drove towards the office of Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta, briefly stopped, placed a flower bouquet near the porch, and then fled the premises before he could be intercepted.Officials have termed the incident a “serious security breach”, noting that the vehicle managed to bypass multiple checkpoints. Police teams, along with bomb disposal and forensic units, were rushed to the spot, and CCTV footage is being examined to identify the vehicle and those involved.The incident comes close on the heels of recent bomb threats during the Assembly’s Budget Session, including emails claiming explosives inside the complex, raising further alarm over security preparedness.The breach has also revived memories of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, one of the most serious assaults on India’s democratic institutions. On December 13, 2001, heavily armed terrorists drove a white Ambassador car fitted with fake government insignia into the Parliament complex, managing to get past initial security layers. Once inside, they opened fire indiscriminately, triggering a fierce gun battle that lasted nearly 30 minutes.