Ayodhya alert on Babri demolition anniversary eve

The temple town of Ayodhya is on alert as it braces for the 26th anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition on Thursday, even as four members of a saffron outfit, who were found roaming suspiciously, were arrested near the disputed complex on Wednesday.

Police sources said that security arrangements has been tightened in Ayodhya and barricades have been put up at the entry points. "We are conducting checks in hotels and dharamshalas (inns)... all vehicles entering the town are also being checked," said a police official in Ayodhya.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which had organised a 'dharam sabha' in Ayodhya on November 25, has decided to perform 'havana' (a ritual by fire) in the temple town and hold meetings in different parts of the state to press its demand for making a law for Ram temple construction.

The Muslim outfits would observe 'black day' on Thursday to register their protest against the demolition of the disputed structure on December 6, 1992.

Four members of Hindu Samaj Party were arrested after they were found roaming "suspiciously" near the disputed complex. The police had on Tuesday arrested the party's president Kamlesh Tiwari while he was on his way to Ayodhya to hold a 'dharna' for the Ram temple.

Prominent Ayodhya-based Hindu seer Mahant Paramhans Das, who had threatened to immolate himself on the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary, was arrested on Tuesday.