Ayodhya plot accused dies in Faridabad jail attack

A 19-year-old undertrial accused in an alleged plot to attack the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was killed on Sunday night after being assaulted by a fellow inmate inside Neemka Jail in Faridabad.

The deceased, Abdul Rahman, a resident of Milkipur in Ayodhya, was allegedly attacked with a sharp weapon by Arun Chaudhary, an inmate recently transferred from Jammu and Kashmir. While officials said the attack took place late Sunday night, jail authorities and local police reportedly received information about the death on Monday morning.

Rahman’s body has been sent to the civil hospital for post-mortem examination. Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident and the apparent security lapse inside the jail.

Rahman had been arrested on March 2, 2025, near Pali village during a joint operation by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Faridabad Special Task Force (STF) and the Intelligence Bureau. He was allegedly found in possession of two hand grenades and accused of conspiring with Abu Sufiyan, said to be linked to Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), to carry out a grenade attack at the Ram Temple.

Following his arrest, Rahman’s family maintained that he was innocent and had been falsely implicated. His mother had told reporters that her son, an e-rickshaw driver, suffered from a heart condition and had recently undergone surgery funded by donations, insisting that he had no involvement in any terror conspiracy.

Police are probing the motive behind the jail attack.