Ayodhya police on Sunday arrested a 55-year-old Kashmiri dry-fruit seller for allegedly attempting to offer namaz in the Ram temple complex on Saturday night.

Asad Shaikh, a resident of Shopian district, travels across the country to sell dry fruits. His son, Imran Shaikh, was quoted as telling the media in Shopian that his father was mentally ill and was under medication.

“He leaves the house without informing us and sells dry fruits. But he is not fit to roam alone. There is no point blaming him for his act because he is not able to differentiate between a temple and a mosque,” Imran said.

The police sources said Asad had some packets of cashews and raisins, a diary with names and phone numbers in his bag and ₹2,700 in his pocket.

“He did not reach the inner security circle of the Ram temple and was not trying to approach the sanctum sanctorum. Some devotees saw him getting ready to offer namaz near the southern boundary wall of the shrine and informed the security forces,” said a police officer in Ayodhya who didn’t want to be identified.

“We have called Asad’s son and other family members. We have not found anything suspicious about him. Jammu and Kashmir police have informed us that Asad has been under treatment at Jammu Medical College since 2024. We may hand him over to his family after gathering more information about him,” the officer added.

On whether it was a security lapse, Uttar Pradesh director-general of police Rajeev Krishna said: “It was not a security lapse because he would have been frisked if he carried anything objectionable. He is in police custody and an inquiry is still in progress.”

The incident prompted the sadhus of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to demand that non-Hindus be banned from going near the temple.

“We have been asking the government not to allow the entry of non-Hindus into the temple. It is high time the government listened to us,” said Raju Das, a sadhu from the Hanuman Garhi shrine located near the Ram temple.