LUCKNOW/GORAKHPUR: Ahmad Murtaza Abbasi is an engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay and was currently out of job, according to investigators.
Murtaza completed his BTech in chemical engineering in 2015 after completing his education from Mumbai and worked in a top oil refinery in Jamnagar (Gujarat).
Police have recovered a laptop and a ticket for a Delhi-Gorakhpur flight. Cops said initial screening of his laptop revealed footprints of ‘jihadi’ literature. The laptop has been sent for forensic examination.
After completing BTech, Murtaza started working for a top oil company in 2015. However, he left the job after a year due to mental stress and personal reasons. He joined another company in Gujarat and started living with his father, Munir Ahmad Abbasi, who worked as a consultant with a private firm," an ATS official said.
"The father-son duo had left Gorakhpur long back and settled in Saipada area of Navi Mumbai, where they lived till 2015. Murtaza completed his education from Class 1-12 in Mumbai," he said.
Officers disclosed that things took a turn for the worse after Murtaza left his job in 2016.
"He seems to have been radicalised on his own. We are yet to find out if he was in touch with any handler. We have found some videos and literature which suggest that he was indoctrinated," the officer said.
A source in the ATS said that a map of Gorakhnath Temple was also found from his possession and his travel history to border areas was being probed.
He added that the pattern of the attack suggested that be could possibly be a "lone wolf".
Murtaza's family history is also being probed and the Maharashtra ATS has been asked to collect more information about his background.
