Gorakhnath Temple Attack: Accused Abbasi Was on UP Police ATS' Watchlist

Ahmad Abbasi was on UP Police's ATS' "watchlist" over suspicious transactions linked to extremist groups.

The main accused in the attack, Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi, is now under arrest.

(Photo: Saadhya Mohan/The Quint)

Days after the attack on PAC personnel deployed at Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur, investigating agencies are yet to come out clear on the motive behind the incident involving an IIT-Mumbai alumnus Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi as the main accused.

On Sunday, 3 April, Abbasi was taken into custody after he attacked the PAC personnel stationed outside the Gorakhnath Temple with a sharp weapon while raising religious slogans, the police said.

An FIR under IPC section of attempt to murder and other relevant sections has been registered.

If sources are to be believed, apart from a sickle, which is the weapon used in the attack, a laptop, extremist literature, and dubious financial transactions are among other things that have been recovered during the search at his Gorakhpur residence.

It is yet to be ascertained if this links to the larger terror plot as claimed by UP government.

'Too Early to Comment on Findings'

Speaking to The Quint, a senior police official in the department claimed Abbasi was on UP Police's Anti-Terrorism Squad's "watchlist" over suspicious transactions linked to extremist groups.

"Days before the attack, two cops in plain clothes had visited his Gorakhpur house. This most likely pressed the panic button and the family sent Abbasi to Nepal," a senior cop privy to the investigation said.

However, Prashant Kumar, additional director general (law and order), maintained it is too early to comment on the findings of the investigations.

"The case is now with ATS and Abbasi has been brought to Lucknow in police remand. The seized evidence is yet to be analysed," Prashant Kumar, ADG (L/O) said.

Raids on Locations Linked to Abbasi

He refrained from divulging any details on which extremist group Abbasi could be linked to. Earlier, UP government, in a written statement soon after the incident, had called the attack an act of terror.

It has been learnt from sources that several teams, presumably of UP ATS, have been raiding locations linked to Abbasi including his former Mumbai residence where he spent his childhood and his maternal place in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

Soon after the incident, Abbasi's father, in his brief interaction with the media, claimed that his son suffered from mental health issues that later aggravated into suicidal tendencies.

As per his family, Murtaza started having mental health issues in 2017 and had been under observation at several places.