Murtaza Abbasi, who was arrested last April in connection with an attack on security personnel stationed outside the Gorakhnath temple in 2022, was sentenced to death by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Lucknow on Monday. Mr. Abbasi was convicted under Sections 121 (waging or attempting to wage war against the Government of India) and 307 (attempting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, is the temple’s head priest (Mahant).
Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi was sentenced to death by a special NIA court on Monday for attacking security personnel at Gorakhpur’s famous Gorakhnath temple. Abbasi, an IIT graduate, was charged with assaulting security personnel at the temple under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Abbasi attempted to forcibly enter the Gorakhnath temple grounds on April 3, 2022, and attacked security personnel with a sickle, injuring two Provincial Armed Constabulary constables (PAC). Other security personnel quickly overpowered him and arrested him. The investigation was carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS)
Who is Ahmed Murtaza ?
Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi was a chemical engineer who graduated from IIT-Mumbai in 2015.
He lives in Gorakhpur. However, he obtained his Aadhaar card in Mumbai.
Murtaza was reportedly inspired by the controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who fled India in 2016.
Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi, a chemical engineer by education who lives in Gorakhpur’s Civil Lines district, has worked for two major corporations. His family members claim that he has been receiving mental health treatment since 2017. According to the Uttar Pradesh police and the ATS, Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi swore allegiance to the terror organisation Ansar-ul-Tauheed in 2013; the organisation later merged with IS in 2014.