Goraknath Temple attack: Accused confesses he was angry over 'CAA, NRC, atrocities against Muslims'

Lucknow, April 8: In a confession, Gorakhnath temple attacker Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi revealed his attack on secuirty personnel outside the temple was a response to the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) by Modi government. He also stated that Muslims were being targetted and atrocities started to increase against them.

 

 

Abbasi, an IIT graduate, on April 3 had attacked Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel stationed at the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur while shouting Allahu Akbar. Two constables were injured in the attack. It should be noted that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is the head priest or mahant of the Gorakhnath temple.

 

 

According to the said confession, he went to Gorakhnath temple as cops are always stationed there and he wanted to move away from there after attacking them. "I thought about the act from various angles before committing the crime. They [government] were implementing CAA and NRC against Muslims. Even in Karnataka, Muslims were being wronged. No one was doing anything about the issue. Someone had to do something. This is how I justified the act in my mind," he said.

 

 

"I was depressed and wasn’t being able to sleep," he said. Police said that the confession indicated that Abbasi had been radicalized to the extent that he was even ready to die, committing such crimes.

 

 

The attack had come a day before UP CM Yogi Adityanath was scheduled to visit the temple. Following the attacks, Abbasi’s family claimed he was mentally unstable, however, the claims were refuted by police and doctors who treated him after the attack.

 

 

The Uttar Police had transferred this case to Anti-Terrorism Squad. During the interrogation, it was known that had sent lakhs of rupees to bank accounts linked to ISIS. The investigating agencies are now looking into its financial dealings with Abbasi. He has accounts in ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank, and Platinum Federal Bank, among others. He had transferred money from a bank account in Nepal to Syria.