Mathura on alert ahead of Babri demolition anniversary

Security was tightened in and around the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi and the Shahi Idgah Mosque at Mathura a day ahead of the 29th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya.

According to police sources, security personnel in strength had been deployed at all the entry points of Mathura and the adjoining Vrindavan towns and no one was being allowed without checking.

The railbus being operated between Mathura and Vrindavan was also stopped as it passed very close to the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi and Idgah Mosque, sources said.

''We are keeping a close watch on the situation....we will not allow any organisation to hold any new event....we will take stern action against anyone flouting the directives,'' a senior police official said in Mathura on Sunday.

Several saffron outfits, including the Narayani Sena, Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi Mukti Dal, had threatened to offer 'jalabhishek' at the Idgah Mosque claiming that it was part of the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi.

The threat from the saffron outfits came soon after UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya appeared to call his party supporters to prepare for the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura.

A petition claiming ownership of the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi and seeking removal of the adjoining Shahi Idgah Masjid had already been admitted by a district court in Mathura.

The petition has sought the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque, which was adjacent to the existing Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi, from the complex and has challenged the agreement signed between the Shrikrishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan and Shahi Idgah Mosque Management Committee in 1968. It claimed ownership over the entire 13.37 acres of land on which they were situated.

Although the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which had spearheaded the Ram Temple movement, had made it clear that Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi was not on its agenda, the All India Akhara Parishad (AIAP), an apex body of the seers in the country, had extended its support to the petition. The AIAP had also called for removal of the Gyanvapi Mosque, which was adjacent to the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. A court in Varanasi was currently hearing a petition in this regard.

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