Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], March 5 (HBTV): An alleged terror plot to attack the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, was foiled by a joint team of the Gujarat Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) and Haryana Police, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi said on Tuesday.

Sanghvi congratulated both police forces for their efforts in preventing the alleged attack.

‘Gujarat Police and Haryana Police have achieved great success in foiling plans of any kind of attack on the temple of Shri Ram Lalla. Detailed information on this will be given to you by Gujarat ATS and Haryana Police,’ the state home minister told reporters.

Earlier in the day, a person was arrested by teams of Haryana Police, Gujarat Police, and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in Faridabad, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly being involved in a terror plot targeting the Ram Mandir. The individual has been remanded to 10 days of police custody, and further investigation is underway.

However, the suspect’s parents expressed disbelief regarding his involvement, alleging that he has been ‘falsely implicated’ in the case.

‘My child is nothing like that. He is being falsely implicated. He has never done anything like that. All of this is a lie. We do not know anything about this. He never mentioned anything like this… He only operated a battery-operated rickshaw,’ the suspect’s mother told ANI.

She added that they had not received any information about his arrest and were not informed by the police.

‘Police did not tell us anything. They just took him (her husband) with them. All I would like to say is that please send my child back to me. He has not done anything,’ she said.

The suspect’s father stated that his son had planned to visit a friend despite his objections, and his phone had been switched off since late on March 2.

‘He had told me that he was going away for two days to meet his friend. I was not allowing him to leave. I told him that Eid was approaching and we needed money. He used to drive a battery-operated rickshaw. He left on March 1 and called me on March 2. His mobile phone was then switched off at 12 pm,’ the father told ANI.

‘I told the man who had accompanied him to find out where my son was. He told me that he would check and let me know. Later in the night, a police team arrived. They inquired about my son. I told them they could check everything. Police left in the morning. When I asked them what the matter was, they said it was nothing but questioning,’ he added.

(ANI)