The Uttar Pradesh police have said that the attack on police personnel posted at the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur is a part of a ‘serious conspiracy’. The UP police also did not rule out the terror angle as it added that the attack ‘could be called a terror incident’. The 29-year-old attacker’s family has claimed that he had been undergoing treatment for depression since 2017.
ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that the attack was a part of a serious conspiracy and could be termed a terror incident on the basis of evidence collected so far. Kumar also added that there was no breach of security at the temple. Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said the investigation of the case has been transferred to the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of UP Police and the ATS will probe the case with the Special Task Force (STF).
The accused, identified as Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi, an IIT-Bombay graduate, attacked the PAC personnel posted at the temple with a sharp-edged weapon while raising religious slogans on Sunday. The police said that Murtaza also tried to enter the temple premises forcibly. While Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is the head priest of the temple, he was not present there at the time of the incident. However, the CM visited the temple yesterday and also met the injured police personnel in the hospital.
The police said that two PAC jawans, Gopal Gaur and Anil Paswan, were seriously injured in the attack as they suffered injuries on their hands and legs.
Murtaza was also injured in the attack. He was overpowered by civil police constable Anurag Rajput before being arrested. The police have registered an FIR against Murtaza under various sections of the IPC, including an attempt to murder and creating enmity between two groups, and the Arms Act.
The police also recovered a bag belonging to Abbas at the temple gate containing a laptop, another sharp-edged weapon and ID cards, reported The Indian Express. The police have also recovered a cellphone from the accused.
Additional Chief Secretary Awasthi said the Chief Minister has announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh each to PAC jawans Gaur and Paswan, and Rajput.
