Rae Bareli: Deposing before a Special
CBI court here, hearing the Babri mosque demolition case, a
witness on Tuesday said senior BJP leaders, including L K Advani,
delivered provocative speeches before the shrine was razed.
Haji Mehboob Ahmad, CBI's 10th witness, told the court
that Advani, Vinay Katiyar, Uma Bharti, Paramhans Ram Chandra
Das and Sadhvi Ritambhara, all BJP leaders, gave provocative
speeches near the disputed site on December six, 1992.
Testifying before Chief Juicial Magistrate Vishnu
Prasad Agarwal, he said when demolition of the mosque started,
he called the Prime Minister's Office and later sent telegrams
to the PMO and the Supreme Court.
Ahmad said at around 10 A M on December six, a
cavalcade passed in front of his house, located a few yards
away from the mosque,
He said he and his friends sitting in verandah of the
house clearly saw Advani in the cavalcade.
The witness said when the cavalcade reached the Babri
mosque, people vociferously raised slogans in favour of razing
the structure.
Ahmad said this sparked panic among members of the
Muslim community and he locked his house in which some 150 to
200 people were present.
He said he then went to the terrace where he saw people
scaling the walls of the mosque.
Ahmad told the court he called up the PMO and even sent
telegrams to the Prime Minister's Office and the SC later.
If required by the court, he could submit photocopies
of the telegrams, he said in his deposition.
"I called up the PMO and requested an official that I
want to talk to the Prime Minister who said the PM is very
busy," Ahmad told the court.
He said between 4 pm and 5 pm the structure was
completely razed to the ground.
Arson also took place at nearby houses in which 16
people were killed, he told the court.
Ahmad's deposition will continue on February 21, the
next date of hearing in the case.
On December four last year, the Special Court cleared
the way for examination of witnesses in the demolition case.
It dismissed a petition filed by senior BJP leader
Murli Manohar Joshi, VHP leader Ashok Singhal and others
challenging the authority of the CBI to be the prosecuting
agency in the case.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 22:38