New Delhi: The Delhi Police claimed to have uncovered an assassination plot against Dasna Devi temple’s head priest Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, with the arrest of a 24-year-old alleged Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant.
Police, according to a report by Indian Express said the accused, Mohd Dar from Kashmir’s Pulwama district, was arrested from a hotel in Central Delhi’s Paharganj and was allegedly paid Rs 41,000 for the job.
“While searching through Dar’s luggage, police recovered a 30 bore pistol along with two magazines and 15 live rounds,” the report quoted an officer as saying.
Quoting police, the report said that during questioning, Dar told them he works as a carpenter and he had met one Abid, a suspected JEM member, near his home in December 2020.
“Abid told Dar that he was from Pakistan and associated with the JeM. They became friends and met again on April 11. They were in constant touch with each other via WhatsApp. In February, Dar came to Delhi with his sister and her father-in-law for treatment of his nephew, who has a heart ailment. Once he returned to Kashmir, Abid assigned him the assassination task,” the officer claimed.
The report quoting police said Abid trained him and gave him Rs 6,500 in cash. He also transferred Rs 35,000 to his account and asked him to procure a weapon from his friend in Delhi. “Police are now looking for Abid’s friend, who provided Dar with a weapon,” the officer said.
Pertinently, an FIR had been lodged against Saraswati last month for hurting religious sentiments with his remarks on Islam during a press conference in Delhi on April 1. His temple in Ghaziabad was also in the news in March when a Muslim boy was assaulted for trying to have water from the tap there.
The priest had also targeted former president APJ Abdul Kalam over his religion, calling him a “jihadi”.
“Any Muslim in the top echelons of the country cannot be pro-India and Kalam was a jihadi,” Saraswati told reporters in Aligarh.
Free Press Kashmir is now on Telegram. Click here to Join.
FPK Android App for 2G. Click here to Download.
