Investigations of the Gorakhnath Temple attack case made a big revelation against the accused Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi. Many facts about the case have been unearthed by the investigation agencies so far. It has been revealed that Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi was in touch with ISIS and he had also bought a foreign SIM card.
Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi, who carried out a murderous attack on security personnel outside Gorakhpur’s Gorakhnath temple, is extremely vicious. The Uttar Pradesh ATS team is interrogating him strictly. Abbasi had bought a foreign SIM card. Through this, he came in contact with dangerous terrorist organizations like ISIS.
श्री गोरक्षनाथ मंदिर की सुरक्षा में तैनात पुलिसकर्मियों पर हमले के अभियुक्त मुर्तजा से UP ATS द्वारा की गई पूछताछ में आतंकी संगठन ISIS के एक्टिविस्ट से सम्पर्क में होने, ISIS की शपथ लेने व ISIS के समर्थकों को आर्थिक सहायता किए जाने के संबंध में ADG L&O UP @PrashantK_IPS90 की बाइट pic.twitter.com/nM6NkxWeIp
— UP POLICE (@Uppolice) April 30, 2022
Uttar Pradesh’s ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said, “On 3rd April 2022, accused Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi attacked security personnel who was deployed for the security of Shri Gorakshnath Temple Complex in Gorakhpur with a sharp weapon. A case was registered in this regard and relevant sections were imposed on him. Later, sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act were also added in the same case. Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) took over the investigations of the case on 5th April 2022. Uttar Pradesh ATS thoroughly investigated the accused. The data recovered from the electronic devices of the accused was analyzed. Various social media accounts of the accused were analyzed. These accounts include Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Accused Murtaza’s various bank accounts, e-Wallets, and financial transactions were also analyzed. The investigations and various technical analyses so far by the Uttar Pradesh ATS have brought to light various facts about accused Murtaza.”
About the ISIS connection of the accused, he said, “Accused Murtaza was in touch with the ISIS terrorists and ISIS sympathizers through various social media handles like Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, etc. The said accused, through his social media accounts, was also in touch with an ISIS propaganda activist Mehandi Masood Vishwas who was arrested by the Bangalore police in 2014. The accused was completely under the influence of radical preachers of various terrorist outfits, Jihadis, and their audio and videos supporting the terrorist ideology of ISIS. On a social media platform in the year 2013, the accused took a vow of Ansar-ul-Tawhid in front of terrorist propaganda activists. Later this terrorist group was merged into ISIS in 2014. In 2020, the accused again took a vow to the terrorist organization ISIS. From the bank accounts of the accused, 8.5 lakh Indian rupees were sent to different countries in Europe and America to help the terrorist activities of ISIS that it carries out through its supporters. With an intent to execute terrorist activities, the accused used to read the online articles and watch the videos on the internet related to weapons like the AK-47 rifle, M4 Carbine, and missile technology. This sequence continued as the accused practiced how to operate an air rifle and a pistol so that his main purposes could be accomplished after getting actual weapons.”
He concluded by saying, “While attacking the security personnel deployed on the southern gate of the Shri Gorakshnath Temple complex, the accused followed the lone wolf attack style that he learned from the terrorist outfit ISIS and its ideology. In this attempt, he attacked them with a sharpened weapon and tried to snatch the rifle of the security personnel. The main intention of the accused behind this attack was to execute some bigger incident using the snatched weapon of the security personnel.”
Police have so far conducted raids in Saharanpur, Siddharthnagar, and Maharajnagar in connection with Murtaza’s contact. A Maulana has been detained from Saharanpur. Abbasi’s call details and call location are also being traced to catch those who have contacted him.
Earlier, police had found that Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi sent lakhs of rupees to Syria via Nepal several times. It started between 2012 and 2015. During the last one and a half years, he sent about eight lakh rupees to Syria through Nepalese banks. It was during his B. Tech. studies in Mumbai that Murtaza came in contact with terror outfits. He is also influenced by Anwar Nasir al-Awlaki, the American Imam of Yemen origin.
