Lucknow: On the directions of the state government, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Special Task Force (STF) have jointly started a probe into the worrying incident of attack at the Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur by a Muslim individual in which two police constables were injured.
The chiefs of ATS and the STF have reached Gorakhpur to initiate the probe, informed ACS, Home Avanish Awasthi.
It may be recalled that on Sunday night, a muslim man shouting religious slogan — “Allah hu Akbar” forcibly tried to enter the premises of Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur. Armed with a sharp-edged weapon, he attacked two constables who tried to stop him.
The attacker, identified as Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi, a chemical engineer having graduated from IIT Mumbai, dodged security personnel at the temple for around ten minutes before being overpowered.
It may be mentioned here that Chief minister Yogi Adityanath is the head priest (Mahant) of Gorakhnath Temple and has his personal accommodation here.
According to the police, the accused tried to forcibly enter the temple premises after raising the religious slogan of ‘Allahu Akbar’.
Additional DG, Gorakhpur zone, Akhil Kumar said, “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.”
Talking to mediaperson on Tuesday, ADG (L&O) Prashant Kumar said that the evidence gathered so far indicate that there could be a possible terror angle to the entire incident. He said that it would be premature to divulge any details at this point in time as the probe was in its initial stages.
On the other hand, the accused father claimed that his son was suffering from bipolar disorder and was under treatment.
The injured constables have been identified as Gopal Kumar Gaur and Anil Paswan. The state government has announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh each to the constables injured.