Gorakhpur/Lucknow: A man attacked two PAC constables with a sharp-edged weapon at a gate of the famed Gorakhnath temple here Monday. The man tried to barge into the temple premises. Uttar Pradesh government officials Monday termed it as a ‘terror incident’. The incident occurred Sunday evening at the temple which is under high security. This is because it is frequently visited by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is the head seer.
The accused has been identified as Murtaza Abbasi and has been arrested, police said. They alleged that he tried to forcibly enter the temple, which was teeming with devotees during to Navratri festival, after raising the religious slogan of ‘Allahu Akbar’.
“The attack on police jawans at Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur is a part of deep conspiracy. Based on the available facts, it can be said that it was a terror incident. The attacker had tried to enter the temple premises with bad intention, which was nuetralised by the brave jawans of the PAC and police,” the UP Home Department said in a statement.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said the incident will be investigated by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). “Directions have been given to UP ATS and UP STF to work jointly to probe the incident,” Awasthi said.
ADG, Gorakhpur zone, Akhil Kumar said two Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) constables – Gopal Gaur and Anil Paswan – were injured. They tried to stop the accused who went to a PAC post near Gate no 1 and tried to attack the police. The officer said the injured constables are undergoing treatment at BRD Medical College.
Adityanath has announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for the two jawans and constable Anurag Rajput for foiling the attack. The reward would be equally shared among them, officials said.
“The accused was injured and is also undergoing treatment at the district hospital. Initial investigation revealed that his name is Murtaza and is a resident of Gorakhpur,” Kumar informed.
Meanwhile, the father of the accused claimed that he was mentally unstable. Speaking to a TV channel, he said that this should be taken into account.
Instructions have been issued to thoroughly probe the laptop and mobile phones of Murtaza and people connected to him, Awasthi said.
Speaking to reporters Monday in Lucknow, Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said, “The documents, which have been recovered from him are quite sensational. The probe is now in its initial stage. One case has been registered at Gorakhnath police station regarding the attack on the cops, while another case has been registered regarding use of a sharp-edged weapon.”
Reacting to the incident, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said the country does not face a threat from the rising Muslim population but from the ‘extremist mindset’ that was behind the attack on security personnel at Gorakhnath temple, and hit out at the opposition over its ‘silence’.
Uttar Pradesh, Constables, Yogi Adityanath, Muslim, Accused, Temple, Weapon.