LUCKNOW: In a fresh development in the Gorakshnath Peeth attack case, the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) brought Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi, 30, to Lucknow in its custody for further interrogation on Wednesday. Murtaza had been in the custody of the UP ATS for seven days since Monday evening. Meanwhile, the ATS conducted raids in a number of cities to probe the links of the main accused.
The ATS, which has been entrusted with the investigation into the attack case and is conducting it in coordination with the UP Special Task Force (STF), detained two persons from Deoband, Kanpur and Noida each in connection with the case. The probe agencies are on the lookout for the aides of Murtaza Abbasi who had gone to Deoband in Saharanpur district a few months back.
The probe agencies are also sifting through the four bank accounts of Murtaza to ascertain his fund transfer pattern. The bank accounts under the scanner of the probe agencies are of ICICI Bank, Platinum Federal Bank and IDFC First Bank. As per highly-placed sources, Murtaza used to transfer funds through these account to some other country.
On Sunday evening, Murtaza, a chemical engineer from IIT-Bombay, had tried to enter the Gorakshnath temple in Gorakhpur forcibly injuring two PAC constables with a sharp edged weapon when they tried to stop him at the gate. The Gorakshnath Peeth comprises the residence of UP CM Yogi Adityanath who is also the chief priest of the revered Muthh.
However, as per sources, the UP ATS is interrogating Murtaza considering that he may be part of a sleeper cell in order to unearth the conspiracy behind the attack. It may be recalled that Additional Chief Secretary, home, and Additional Director General of Police (law and Order) had not ruled out the possibility of a terror angle in the attack.
At the same time, the probe agencies have also found some incriminating evidence from his gadgets like laptop and mobile phone, which indicate that Murtaza was self-radicalized as he had been listening to hardliners and ISIS members consistently.
Confirming that the ATS had brought Murtaza to Lucknow, ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that whatever was seized from him was being physically and technically examined by the probe agencies.
As per sources, Murtza had been airing his radical views frequently on social media. The information from the initial interrogation reveals that he was watching videos of beheadings in Syria, 9/11 attacks in America and Lone Wolf attacks by terrorists in Western countries.
Investigating agencies believe that Murtaza was brainwashed by these videos and provocative speeches and was probably ready to carry out some major incident. However, as per his family, Murtaza has been of unstable mind for quite some time and has a broken marriage as well. According to his father-in-law Muzaffarul Haq, he had married his daughter off to Murtaza in 2019 but they divorced soon as his daughter was subjected to domestic violence by Murtaza’s mother. “We are not in touch with Murtaza since the divorce of my daughter,” said Haq.
Police sources claimed that Murtaza will be in police custody till April 11. Meanwhile, leader of the Opposition and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the probe agencies should also focus on the psychological aspect of the main accused as his father had claimed that Murtaza had some bipolar issue. “I feel we need to pay heed to that problem as well. BJP is a party that exaggerates,” said Akhilesh.