New Delhi: An NIA court on January 30 sentenced Gorakhnath Temple attack accused Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi to death. The court awarded the sentence after 60 days of continuous hearing. Speaking to reporters, Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar informed about the court’s decision. He said that the court gave death penalty under Section 121 of the Indian Penal Code. He has also been given life imprisonment under Section 307 for attacking a police personnel.
Following the attack, Munir Abbasi, father of Ahmed Abbasi had claimed that his son is mentally unstable. Munir claimed that Ahmed is suffering from depression since childhood, and had no plans to carry out the attack.
Abbasi wanted Islamic supremacy
However, investigations revealed that Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi was in touch with ISIS. He had also bought a foreign SIM card. Through his social media accounts, Abbasi was in touch with an ISIS propaganda activist Mehandi Masood Vishwas. Bengaluru police had arrested Mehandi Masood in 2014.
The accused was completely under the influence of Islamic doctrine of Jihad. He had audio tapes and videos of Islamic preachers supporting the terrorist ideology of ISIS. On social media in 2013, Abbasi took a vow of Ansar-ul-Tawhid in front of Islamic terrorists. Later this terrorist group was merged into ISIS in 2014. In 2020, he again took a vow of the terrorist organization ISIS. He chose to carry our attack on Gorakhnath temple to carry out his vow.
Sent money abroad to support Jihad
Ahmed had sent 8.5 lakh Indian rupees from his bank accounts 8.5 lakh Indian rupees for terror activities. He sent it to different countries in Europe and America in order to help the terrorist activities of ISIS that it carries out through its supporters.
With an intent to execute terrorist acts, Abbasi used to read the online articles and watch the videos on the internet related to weapons like the AK-47 rifle, M4 Carbine, and missile technolog. He practiced operating air rifle and pistol. He was waiting to lay hands on actual weapons. Failing to get firearms, he attacked Gorakhnath temple with sharp edged sickle and knife.
Lone wolf Islamic terrorist
On 3 April 2022, Abbasi had attacked security personnel deployed for the security of Shri Gorakhnath Temple Complex in Gorakhpur with a sharp weapon. In his dastardly act, Abbasi followed the lone wolf attack style that he learnt from ISIS. He attacked security personnel with a sharpened weapon and also tried to snatch a rifle from them. The main intention of the accused behind this attack was to execute some bigger act of terror using the snatched weapon of the security personnel.
Abbasi also had sent lakhs of rupees to Syria via Nepal several times, beginning 2012 to 2015. In last couple of years, he sent about eight lakh rupees to Syria through Nepalese banks. It was during his BTech studies in Mumbai that Abbasi came in contact with terror outfits. Anwar Nasir al-Awlaki, the American Imam of Yemen origin was his inspiration to become an Islamic supremacist.
Attack on Gorakhnath Complex
On the evening of April 3, 30-year-old IIT graduate Abbasi tried to forcibly enter the premises of the Gorakhnath temple. When the security personnel tried to stop him, he attacked them with a sickle, injuring two constables of the Provincial Armed Constabulary. Security officials seized the sickle and a knife from his possession. A joint team of the Special Task Force and the ATS was probing the case.
