Posing as Muslims, couple threatens to blow Ayodhya Ram temple

Lucknow: Ayodhya police on Friday arrested a Maharashtra-based couple for threatening to blow up the Ram temple which is under construction. The accused called an Ayodhya resident on February 2 and said they will blow up the temple premises in a few hours.

The police have identified the accused as Anil Ramdas Ghodake (alias Baba Jaan Musa) and his wife Ghodake’s wife Vidya Sagar Dhotre (alias Jord Satan Shanishwara). The husband made the internet call posing as a Delhi resident named Bilal. They are Hindus but posed as Muslims to trick people and make money. Police recovered two copies of the holy Quran, skull caps, and a few objectionable things from them, said the press note shared by the officials.

Anil confessed that he befriended Bilal’s Sister but she broke up with him after finding out about his marriage. The couple then tried to blackmail and extract money from the woman. When Bilal found out, he lashed out and asked them to stay away from his sister. The couple felt insulted and used Bilal's name in their plan to get back at him. They used a proxy number to issue the threats in an effort to frame Bilal.

Ayodhya’s Circle Officer (CO) Shailendra Kumar Gautam told Hindustan Times that the couple are originally residents of Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district. They were found in a flat in central Mumbai's Chembur area. "They would trick people and then blackmail them to pay money."