Gorakhnatah Temple attack: Police remand of accused extended

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 Gorakhpur: A local court on Monday extended the police remand of Gorakhnath temple attack accused Murtaza Abbasi till April 16.

Abbasi was presented before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate and the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad along with Shahpur police urged the court to extend his police remand.

His week-long remand ended on Monday.

"ATS and Shahpur police jointly appealed the court for the extension of police remand of Murtaza Abbasi. The ACJM court extended the remand for five more days, stating that it is necessary for investigation.

"The magistrate has extended the remand till April 16," senior lawyer PK Dubey told reporters here.

On April 3 evening, Abbasi, an IIT graduate, attacked two policemen with a sharp-edged weapon at a gate of the famed Gorakhnath temple here and tried to barge into the premises before being overpowered.

The attack occurred at the temple which is under high security as it is frequently visited by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is the head seer.

Abbasi was arrested and remanded in police custody for two weeks, police had said and alleged that he tried to forcibly enter the temple while raising a religious slogan.

His father Munir Abbasi said Murtaza belonged to the 2015 batch of IIT-Mumbai and was a chemical engineer.

In an earlier statement issued, the UP Home Department had said, "The attack on police jawans at Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur is a part of deep conspiracy and, based on the available facts, it can be said that it was a terror incident."