Not ruling out the terror angle to the incident involving a person allegedly forcibly entering the Gorakhnath Temple and assaulting the police personnel, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to hand over the probe to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
The accused allegedly attacked the police constables outside the gate of the Mutt and forcibly tried to enter the temple while raising religious slogans.
While speaking to ANI, Prashant Kumar, Additional director general (ADG), Law and Order, on Monday said, “A man forcibly tried to enter the temple premises and attacked the on-duty police personnel with a sharp weapon.”
“The accused has been identified as Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi, a resident of Gorakhpur,” added the ADG.
He further stated, “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.”
Vipin Tada, SSP Gorakhpur, said, “The accused tried to forcibly enter the Gorakhnath Temple while raising religious slogans but he was stopped by the police.”
“Two police personnel have been injured in the incident and treatment is being provided to them,” Tada added.
The SSP further added, “Cases have been registered against the accused under Section 301 (Attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal code, Section 7 (Molesting a person to prejudice of employment or business) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1932 among others.”
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said that the government has taken congnisance of the incident that took place on Sunday.