Gorakhnath Temple attack: UP ATS takes 8 people into custody
Apr 15, 2022
Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 15 : Days after a man attacked security personnel outside Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhnath Temple, leaving a few policemen injured, Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Friday said that eight people have been taken into custody.
In a conversation today with ANI, state ATS said, "A total of eight people have been taken into custody."
Notably, Gorakhpur is the home turf of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who is also the head priest of the temple.
Meanwhile, the Chief Superintendent of Gorakhpur Sadar Hospital Dr JSP Singh, on Tuesday refused to comment on the mental condition of the Gorakhnath Temple attack accused.
ATS team took accused Murtaza Abbasi of a medical check-up on Tuesday at Sadar hospital, Gorakhpur to show his hand injury. Dr Singh further stated that besides the hand injury there was no other physical injury on the body of the accused.
"Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi has sustained no other injuries than the ones being already treated, for which the doctors have bandaged Murtaza's hands and performed an X-ray to identify other injuries," said Dr J.S.P. Singh, Medical Superintendent of the hospital.
"No such evidence can be substantiated which would suggest if the accused is mentally unfit," he added. Earlier on 4 April 2022, Murtaza's father stated that he (Murtaza) was mentally unstable and thus had no intentions to commit the offence.
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Uttar Pradesh had taken Murtaza to the hospital for his medical examination.
Murtaza was shifted to the Uttar Pradesh's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) headquarters in Lucknow on April 6 for investigations.
On 3 April 2022, a man forcibly tried to enter the Gorakhnath Temple premises and attacked the on-duty police personnel with a sharp weapon.
Not ruling out the terror angle in forcibly entering the Gorakhnath Temple and assaulting the police personnel, the Uttar Pradesh government had handed over the probe to the Anti-Terrorism Squad after the accused got arrested.
