Parliament intruder from Mysuru briefly did volunteer work in Cambodia, probe reveals

“The parents have indicated that the travel to Cambodia was to work as a volunteer. They have suggested it was some kind of volunteer work for an agency like the UN. These travel details are being verified by investigating authorities,” sources said.

The trip to Cambodia is reportedly the only instance of foreign travel that has been found on Manoranjan’s records as authorities attempt to ascertain the ideological and political moorings of the parliament intruders.

Manoranjan has been described by his family as being a socially conscious youth whom they did not fret over though he was unemployed, since he was intent on serving society. They have described him as being always immersed in his books and social work.

“He used to read a lot of books, especially of Swami Vivekananda and I am not aware of his political leanings. He was a student leader and even to this day he wants to bring reforms in the society,” Manoranjan’s father Devaraj Gowda said.

The family has reportedly told the police that Sagar Sharma, one of the co-accused in the Parliament security breach case, visited their son at their home on at least one occasion.

A team from the Intelligence Bureau visited the family’s home two days ago and gathered details on aspects of Manoranjan’s activities, including usage of electronic gadgets. Police sources said he was aloof and had little social interaction with neighbours or friends in Mysuru.

K S Shilpa, a resident of the Vijayanagar locality in Mysuru where the family has lived for the last 15 years, said, “He was very reserved and for a long time we did not know that Manoranjan was Devaraj’s son. Devaraj used to say that his son was a BE graduate and he worked abroad.”

The police indicated that Manoranjan may have been able to obtain a pass to enter Parliament from Mysuru-Kodagu BJP MP Pratap Simha on account of being a voter in his constituency and also because he belongs to the same Vokkaliga community as the MP.

Apart from Mysuru, Manoranjan also spent time at a 10-acre agricultural property the family owns in their native village in the Hassan region of Karnataka, the police have gathered.

Manoranjan completed his schooling at St Joseph’s School and his PUC at Marimallappa’s College in Mysuru. He joined an engineering course at the Bangalore Institute of Technology (BIT) but did not complete the course, according to BIT principal Dr MU Ashwath.