Kamal Ghorui
FARIDABAD: Abdul Rahman, a 20-year-old terror accused arrested for allegedly plotting an attack on the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, was killed inside Faridabad district jail on Sunday night around 8pm after being attacked with a sharp object, officials said.Rahman was assaulted by another inmate, Arun Chaudhary, a Kashmiri youth lodged in the same jail. Jail authorities said Chaudhary struck Rahman on the head with a sharp-edged object, leaving him critically injured. Rahman was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead. An inquiry has been ordered into the incident.Rahman, a resident of Milkipur in Uttar Pradesh’s Faizabad district, had been arrested on March 2, 2025, near Pali village in Faridabad during a joint operation by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Haryana Special Task Force (STF). Two hand grenades recovered from his possession were later defused by bomb disposal squads.Investigators had said Rahman was living in Faridabad under a fake identity and had blended into the local community by working as an autorickshaw driver and at a small eatery. He was staying in a secluded tubewell house on the outskirts of the city.Security agencies had flagged him as a key operative tasked with conducting reconnaissance of sensitive locations, including the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and administrative buildings in Uttar Pradesh. Digital devices seized during his arrest contained videos and material linked to the Ram Temple, along with instructions and details of the proposed attack.Officials had earlier said the grenades were sourced through handlers linked to Pakistan’s ISI via networks associated with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). Though no specific date had been fixed, agencies assessed that the planned strike was imminent and could have triggered mass casualties and panic.Following his arrest, central and state intelligence agencies launched a coordinated probe to identify sleeper cells, local facilitators and logistical support linked to the plot. The case was being treated as a major national security threat.Police officials said security arrangements inside the prison are being reviewed in the wake of Rahman’s killing. “We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the killing,” a police officer said.Police are questioning inmates and staff to ascertain the sequence of events leading to the attack.
