Ghaziabad (UP), Oct 3 (PTI) A man was arrested for entering Raghunath temple here in Masuri town with a pistol and other weapons in his bag, police said on Monday.

The ant-terror squad and the Intelligence Bureau are quizzing him to know his purpose behind entering the temple with an assumed name, police said.

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At the time of entry, the man had said his name was Sameer Sharma.

The incident happened Sunday night when a religious discourse was underway inside the temple in Ikla village, police said.

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When the volunteers who had detained the man, checked his bag, they found in it a country-made pistol, cartridges, sharp weapons, an Aadhaar card, and two mobile phones, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Iraj Raja said.

The man during interrogation identified himself as Aas Mohammad, a native of Palla village of Gautam Buddh Nagar district.

The SP said that keeping in view of the festival season and the incident, security has been beefed up in the area.

The volunteers and the priest of the temple alleged that the suspect had been hired with Rs 1 lakh to kill him and other saints who were present religious discourse Sunday night.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)