The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) will probe the incident of an attack on police constables at the Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur. On Sunday, a man forcibly tried to enter the premises of the temple. Armed with a sharp-edged weapon, he attacked two constables who tried to stop him. The attacker, identified as Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi, dodged security personnel at the temple for around ten minutes before being overpowered.
Notably, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is the head priest (Mahant) of Gorakhnath Temple and has his personal accommodation here. CM Yogi was not at the temple at the time of the attack.
According to police, the accused tried to forcibly enter the temple premises after raising the religious slogan of Allahu Akbar. "Two of our Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) constables were injured after the accused tried to enter the temple with a sharp-edged weapon. He went to a PAC post near the gate and tried to attack the police,” ADG, Gorakhpur zone, Akhil Kumar said.
Prashant Kumar, Additional director general (ADG), Law and Order, on Monday said the case has been transferred to ATS as we cannot rule out the terror angle in the incident and a detailed investigation has been initiated." The accused, who was also injured in the attack, was held by the constables, he said. The injured constables have been identified as Gopal Kumar Gaur and Anil Paswan. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a cash reward of Rs 500,000 for the two jawans and constable Anurag Rajput for foiling the attack.
“The accused was injured and is also undergoing treatment,” Akhil Kumar said. Meanwhile, the father of the accused claimed that he was mentally unstable.
