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The Hindu
The Hindu
National
Omar Rashid

Gorakhpur temple attack a terror incident: U.P. govt

The incident in which a man attacked police guards with a sharp weapon while trying to enter the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur, leaving two Provincial Armed Constabulary jawans injured, could be called a terror attack, the Uttar Pradesh government said on Monday.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath represents Gorakhpur in the Assembly.

As the government handed over the probe into the incident to the ATS, a senior official said the breach was “serious” and part of a conspiracy.

“It can be termed a terror incident,” Awanish Awasthi, Additional Chief Secretary Home, said at a press conference here.

Accused also injured

The accused, identified as Murtuza, reportedly an IIT graduate, was also injured in the incident, the police said.

At 7 p.m. on Sunday, the accused attacked the police personnel stationed at gate no. 1 of the temple with a sharp weapon and raised some religious slogans, ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar stated. Two jawans were seriously injured in the attack. The attacker was brought under control by the rest of the police and arrested.

‘Preparation of big conspiracy’

Mr. Kumar said, “from the things recovered from the person it appears that it was in preparation of a big and serious conspiracy. And we cannot deny that it was not a terror act.”

The police recovered “sensational documents” from the accused, he added.

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