Lucknow: Babri
Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya on December 6th, 1992. It has been almost
28 years and the fate of the key accused members is in the hands of a special court
in Lucknow. Ayodhya has had been a place of intense contention between Hindus
and Muslims for a long time with Hindus claiming the site as “Ram Bhoomi” and
Muslims declaring the site as significant to their faith. On a fateful day for
the nation in 1992, several people belonging to both religions fought, and
months of violence followed the demolition which caused thousands to lose their
lives.
On Wednesday,
a special court in Lucknow will be delivering a verdict for those booked under
criminal conspiracy. Over the span of 28 years, several key figures had passed
away. If the special court delivers a guilty verdict, the accused figures such as
LK Advani, Uma Bharati and Murali Manohar Joshi will face prison time. The
accused can file an appeal to a higher court if today’s verdict convicts the accused
as guilty.
LK Advani
and Murali Manohar Joshi could be seeking exemption from the court on grounds
of old age. Currently, Uma Bharati is admitted to a hospital for covid-19.
Several others along with these key figures are awaiting the verdict. The court
will go ahead with the verdict delivery today at 10 am even in the absence of the
accused. Police were deployed in Lucknow and Ayodhya to prevent rioting, and
Rapid Action Forces were also deployed in several sensitive areas in the state.
Religion based violence has had took thousands of lives before in India and
such scenes if repeated would make thousands of families suffer and adding
distress to the nation as a whole.
