On April 3, a man forcibly tried to enter the premises of Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur district, Uttar Pradesh. He was armed with a sharp-edged weapon and injured two cops who tried to stop him. The attacker, identified as Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi, dodged security personnel at the temple for around ten minutes before getting overpowered. Notably, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is the head priest (Mahant) of Gorakhnath Temple and has his personal accommodation on the temple premises. At the time of the attack, CM Yogi was not at the temple.
Series of events at Gorakhnath Temple
As per eyewitnesses, Abbasi wanted to enter the premises at any cost. The main gate of the temple is in front of the Gorakhnath Police Station. Constable Gopal Gaud and Anil Paswan were deployed at the main gate for security. A man tried to enter the premises at around 7:15 PM, and when the Police personnel stopped him for checking, he tried to snatch their weapons. When he failed, he drew a sharp weapon and attacked the Police personnel.
गोरखपुर गोरक्षनाथ मंदिर के सुरक्षाकर्मियों पे IIT मुम्बई केमिकल इंजीनियर अहमद मुर्तज़ा का हमला…
— अज्ञानी (@MhaAgyaani) April 3, 2022
इन्हें कुछ भी पढ़ा लिखा लो कुछ भी बना दो … इनके ख़ून में सनी है ये कट्टरता .. pic.twitter.com/L1WkFU5XCL
Before the Police personnel could realize what had happened, Abbasi seriously injured them. After that, he approached the main gate of the temple while shouting ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’. Constable Anurag Rajput and AIU officer Anil stopped him. Abbasi tried to injure them as well. He almost reached the gate when Constable Rajput and AIU Anil overpowered him.
As soon as the locals learned about the incident, they rushed to the temple premises and thrashed Abbasi. Reports suggest Abbasi was not alone. There was another man with him who escaped when Abbasi got overpowered. He left a bag behind in which the Police found a laptop, pen drive, an air ticket and a PAN card.
Deputy inspector general of Police (Gorakhpur range) J Ravinder Goud, along with the senior superintendent of police Vipin Tada visited the temple premises to take stock of the incident. The investigation into the incident is underway, and the Police are still trying to assert the motive behind the attack. Reports suggested that when Abbasi got captured, he was heard shouting, ‘someone shoots me’.
ADG Zone Akhil Kumar said in a statement that the incident was serious as CM Yogi often visited the temple. The Police are investigating every possible angle, including the possibility that it was a terror attack.
The ‘script’ lives
Some reports suggest Abbasi, a chemical engineer by profession, claimed during interrogation that he was mentally upset due to family issues. As per reports, he has is a chemical engineer from IIT Bombay. His parents were detained by the Police from their residence.
Security of the temple premises has been increased.
