Why the incident at Gorakhpur Math fits the bill of a lone wolf attack driven by ISIS ideology

New Delhi, Apr 08: The attack at the Gorakhnath Math last week could be a case of a lone wolf attack. The Uttar Pradesh Police and the Anti Terrorism Squad who are probing the matter have prima facie learnt that Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi, an IIT Bombay graduate may have been self-radicalised with the help of Islamic State propaganda online.

While it appears that he was highly radicalised, he cited the anti-CAA protests to carry out the attack, an officer tells OneIndia.

A video of his has also surfaced stating that the took the step because he felt that the Muslims were being harassed.

In the clip that is being verified by the police, Abbasi is heard saying that he purchased the dagger and then took a tempo to reach the Math. He further added that he came from Nepal to Gorakhpur.

His father has however claimed that his son is mentally unstable. Additional Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that if the accused claims that he is mentally unstable then a psychological assessment can be done by the experts as per norms.

Kumar had earlier said that there was a big conspiracy behind this attack and they are looking into all aspects relating to the case. All the allegations made by the accused will also be probed, he added.
Kumar had said that the accused was highly radicalised and would read ISIS affiliate content online. His laptop and other gadgets have been sent for forensic analysis he added.

The police however suspect that he may have been radicalised in Saudi Arabia during a visit in 2016. A police sources said that they are looking at both the possibility of this being a lone wolf attack as well one which may involve a larger conspiracy.

Experts say that this looks largely like a lone wolf attack. The accused seems to be highly radicalised and his attempts to join the ISIS in Syria seem to have failed. He was acting as lone wolf while carrying forward the ideology of the ISIS, the preliminary probe has found.

A lone wolf terrorist is one who acts independently. He subscribes to a particular terrorist group's ideology but is not part of it. All these terrorist groups need to do is continue posting content online. Repeatedly reading such material influences such people. These terrorist groups are aware that attacking countries such as the United States or its allies results in an extreme response.

In such a scenario it always helps to have lone wolves doing the job for them. The terror groups and the lone wolves never interact. There is no mailing or financial transactions.

For the Intelligence Agencies lone wolf terror is a nightmare. It is extremely difficult to gather intelligence on lone wolf terrorists. They coordinate with none and do everything on their own thus leaving no scope for picking up intercepts. This particularly is a nightmare for the Intelligence agencies.