Even as investigations continue into the Gorakhnath temple attack, security was beefed up at the official residence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at 5, Kalidas Marg in Lucknow and also at Gorakhnath temple.
Security was beefed up on the initiative taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs, after details of the quizzing of arrested accused Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi was sent to the Centre by the UP Police brass.
Earlier in February, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had received death threats from a twitterti called Lady Don. Yogi has been provided with Z plus category security and after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he is the most guarded politician with the highest number of National Security Guard (NSG) commandos.
As per official sources, two platoons of CRPF were deployed at the CM's official residence and women personnel will also be deployed round the clock.
"All visitors will be properly screened and any suspicious movement will be checked immediately. People coming for Janata Darbar and other programmes will have to go through strict security checks," said a senior official.
The security plan for Gorakhnath temple is being prepared by ADG, Gorakhpur Zone, Akhil Kumar, and SSP of Gorakhpur, Vipin Tada.
Meanwhile, every visitor at Gorakhnath temple was being checked to ensure safety and security.
The number of security personnel deployed at the entrance of Gorakhnath temple has also been increased. Preparations are being made to open a training centre where trainers of ATS, STF and Central security forces will impart training to security personnel.
ADG Akhil Kumar said: "There is tight security at every public place in the district including Gorakhnath temple. The deployment of security personnel at Gorakhnath temple is beefed up and all visitors are being checked thoroughly."
Meanwhile, sources said that during interrogation by sleuths of ATS and STF, Abbasi claimed that he felt that Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) were “injustice to Muslims”.
Sources said that Abbasi told ATS sleuths that besides CAA-NRC, he noticed harassment of Muslims through Hijab controversy in Karnataka. He further said that someone or the other had to do something. "I could not sleep the whole night in Nepal and decided to take this step. I got on a tempo and left for Gorakhpur and purchased a sickle at Maharajganj before reaching Gorakhnath temple and attacked the security personnel hoping that my message would be delivered and I would be killed," Abbasi is said to have confessed.
It also surfaced that Abbasi made the attack in “haste” mafter finding ATS sleuths tracking him. At the time of his arrest, Abbasi told media persons that he attacked PAC jawans hoping they would gun him down.
As per revelations made by Abbasi, he was linked to the radicalisation of the International Islamic Forum. He also used to watch jihadi videos. Not only this, he also used to run his own WhatsApp group. So far, the ATS has come across four of his bank accounts. Out of these two accounts are operational and one has a huge amount of money. On the cash in his account, Abbasi said that he was raising money to go to Canada.
Sources said that whatever money he saved during jobs, he spent it on preparing the nursery of jihad. About Rs 8 lakh were sent through Nepal's bank accounts to different bank accounts in Syria. Apart from Nepal, the investigation has been intensified on the news of his accounts being operated abroad.
The ATS team also conducted raids in several cities and has so far detained 12 youths, who were in touch with Murtaza Abbasi.