Murtaza Abbasi, accused of attacking PAC jawans outside the Gorakhnath temple, was ragged and humiliated while he was at IIT-Bombay, his father has told interrogators who are probing a terror angle behind the incident.
Murtaza, who will be produced in court on Monday, wanted to quit his studies and return home, his father revealed, according to a report in Times of India. He said in the second year, Abbasi left the hostel and began staying with him in Mumbai. The accused’s father added that he would “stay awake all night and cry. He had no friends and this continued for years”.
A few days ago, a purported video of the accused went viral in which he admits he was depressed over the treatment of Muslims on issues such as CAA-NRC and the Karnataka hijab row.
“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, 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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