Police remand of the accused in the Gorakhnatah Temple attack has been extended

*Paromita Das

Murtaza Abbasi, the accused in the Gorakhnath temple attack, was remanded in police custody until April 16 by a local court on Monday.

Abbasi was brought before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, and the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad, along with Shahpur police, requested that his police remand be extended.

His one-week remand period ended on Monday.

“ATS and Shahpur police jointly petitioned the court to extend Murtaza Abbasi’s police remand.” The ACJM court extended the remand for five more days, citing the need for further investigation.

“The magistrate has extended the remand until April 16,” senior lawyer PK Dubey told reporters in New Delhi.
On the evening of April 3rd, Abbasi, an IIT graduate, attacked two police officers with a sharp-edged weapon at the famed Gorakhnath temple here and attempted to barge into the premises before being overpowered.

The attack occurred at a temple that is heavily guarded because Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the temple’s head seer, frequently visits it.

According to police, Abbasi was arrested and remanded in police custody for two weeks after allegedly attempting to forcibly enter the temple while raising a religious slogan.

Murtaza Abbasi, according to his father Munir Abbasi, was a chemical engineer from the IIT-Mumbai 2015 batch.
The UP Home Department had previously stated, “The attack on police jawans at Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur is a part of a deep conspiracy and, based on the available facts, it can be said that it was a terror incident.”