The security at the famous Mankameshwar Temple in Lucknow have been beefed up after the temple trust received a letter threatening to blow up the city’s prominent temples and the office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Earlier on Friday, the Aliganj Hanuman temple staff had also received a similar letter. Security has been tightened in and around the temple in view of the threat.
In the letter, written in a highly defamatory and abusive language, the jihadists demanded that their accomplices, recently arrested by the ATS, be released by the evening of August 14. The letter warned that if their demand is not met, they would unleash havoc in Lucknow on August 15. The sender warned that every prominent temple in Lucknow and the RSS office are on their target. It also read that 10 prominent Hindus, including some senior RSS functionaries are on their hit list.
According to a media report, the letter received by the temple authorities bore the stamp of Lucknow’s Triveni Nagar Sub Post Office.
ATS arrests 5 terrorists linked with Al Qaeda’s Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind from Lucknow
For the uninitiated, on July 11, the ATS first arrested two suspected terrorists Minhaj Ahmed and Maseeruddin alias Musheer, linked with Al Qaeda’s Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, from Lucknow. Arms, explosive materials had been recovered from their possession. The two arrested men reportedly planned suicide bombings and other such terrorist attacks in the crowded areas of Lucknow and other cities in the state.
The Police had said that the arrested terrorists were planning to “unleash terror activities on August 15 in different cities of the state.
Based on information provided by these terrorists during interrogation, ATS had further arrested their aides Mohammed Mustakim, Mohammad Mueed and Shakeel from Lucknow. The ATS had grilled all the five accused by taking them on remand. At present, all the five accused are in jail.
Letter threatened of giving authorities time till the Independence Day eve
Meanwhile, Lucknow police Commissioner DK Thakur said the police were investigating the letter. “Security arrangements have been beefed up in view of the threat. Police teams are working with agencies having expertise in such crimes. Our teams are also scanning the mobile number of some suspects. I have spoken to the head of the temple and other staff members and apprised them about the police preparedness,” he said.
“In the letter, in which the content has been typed, the writer mentioned his name as ‘Intezar’ and threatened that he was giving the authorities time till the Independence Day eve,” said a senior police official.
Last year, ahead of Independence Day, several media persons in Lucknow had received an audio message from numbers originating from Malaysia, Canada and different parts of the United States of America. The message was about protests on Independence Day to raise voice against the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. It also demanded a separate nation-Urdustan, for the minority Indian Muslims in the country.
