Was Mentally Depressed, Says Gorakhnath Temple Attack Accused in Viral Video

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posted on 2 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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In the video believed to have been shot on the day he was detained, Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi is purportedly seen saying he was mentally depressed over issues like CAA-NRC and the Karnataka hijab row.

Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi, the accused in the attack on security personnel outside Gorakhpur’s Gorakhnath temple, is purportedly seen in a viral video saying he was mentally depressed over the treatment of Muslims on issues like CAA-NRC and the Karnataka hijab row.

The video is believed to have been shot on the day Abbasi was detained following the incident.

“Wrong things being done with Muslims. CAA-NRC is wrong, hijab controversy in Karnataka is also wrong. Someone or the other has to do something… There was a lot of mental depression and I couldn’t even sleep. Got on the tempo and left for Gorakhpur. I asked to be dropped off at Gorakhnath temple itself. The police are there, I will do my job and someone will go away. All my work will be done (sic),” Abbasi is purportedly seen saying in the video.

Abbasi is currently in seven-day police custody and was questioned at the Anti-Terror Squad headquarters in Lucknow on Wednesday.

Abbasi, an IIT graduate, tried to enter the Gorakhnath temple premises on Sunday evening. When the security personnel tried to stop him, he attacked them with a sickle, injuring constables Gopal Gaud and Anil Paswan of the 20th Battalion of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC).

Abbasi was soon overpowered by other security staff and arrested. The security staff seized the sickle used in the attack and a knife from his possession. Abbasi’s family has claimed that he is mentally unstable.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who frequently visits Gorakhnath temple as its head seer, announced cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for the two personnel and constable Anurag Rajput for foiling the attack. The reward would be equally shared among them, officials said.

With the terror angle not being ruled out, the case is being investigated by a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) and the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) of the UP Police. The investigators suspect that Abbasi was self-radicalised and frequently watched videos that showed beheadings in Syria, the 9/11 attacks in the US and lone wolf attacks in Western countries.

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