Investigation later showed that the attack was planned and executed by Jaish-e-Mohammad. One Irfan, a native of Saharanpur, was arrested for providing logistical support to the Jaish men.

Four men — Asif Iqbal, Naseem, Shakeel and Abdul Aziz — were arrested from Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir for the attack.

The terrorists targeted to blow up the disputed shrine. But they ran into deadly fire from the security personnel who placed in strong defensive positions. 

They tried to blast the barricade at the entrance and then force their way, firing assault rifles. But all five fell to the defenders bullets. The only local casualty was Rajkumar, a local guide.

All five arrested men were chargesheeted under the sections 147, 148, 149, 307, 302. 120(B) in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate of Faizabad. 

Soon, the Faizabad Bar Association passed a resolution saying that none of them would defend the accused. There were occasions when the accused were beaten and roughed up while being taken to court.

The accused then moved the court requesting that the case be transferred to some other court where they can get legal help and where they would be physicially safe.