States on security alert after apex court’s Ayodhya ruling

NEW DELHI - After the Supreme Court Tuesday rejected a plea for deferment of the Ayodhya verdict, the central government told all states, especially Uttar Pradesh where the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit is being heard, to be on high alert.

In the light of the apex court decision, the judgment by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court in the suit is expected Wednesday or Thursday, a lawyer involved in the case told IANS.

In its latest advisory, the central government has asked states to strictly enforce security measures in sensitive locations. Local administrations have been asked to activate peace committees of Hindus and Muslims.

Large number of police and security personnel have been deployed in sensitive places across the country for the past 10 days, as the high court judgment was initially expected Sep 24.

However, the Supreme Court Sep 23 deferred the verdict till Tuesday on a plea by a former bureaucrat Ramesh Chandra Tripati that the “chances of out of court settlement should be explored”.

Nearly 170,000 security personnel — 160,000 state policemen and 10,000 central forces men — have taken position in Uttar Pradesh.

The suit relates to a disputed site which the Hindu groups claim to be the birthplace of Lord Ram. On Dec 6, 1992, radical Hindu activists destroyed Babri Masjid, a mosque on the site, alleging it was built in 1528 after razing a temple there.