12/5/2004 3:00:00 PM GMT
Source: ABC News Online
Indian forces sealed off the town of Ayodhya on Sunday to prevent a march by Hindu hardliners to mark the anniversary of the destruction of the Babri mosque 12 years ago.
Several Indian troops were deployed at the disputed site in northern Ayodhya where Hindus damaged the 16th century Babri mosque in order to build a temple in its place.
“We are keeping a strict round-the clock vigil in and around Ayodhya,” said Alok Singh, principal home secretary of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Gathering of more than five people is forbidden in the town, he added.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Shiv Sena, both hardline Hindu groups, have organized a rally near the mosque on Monday to mark the anniversary of the mosque destruction.
At least 3,000 people were killed in the riots that followed the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992 and the dispute over the site has resulted in Hindu-Muslim tensions ever since.
Hindu hardliners claim that a temple existed at the site in Ayodhya centuries ago before Mughal rulers damaged it and built a mosque instead.
On the other hand, Muslims, who comprise about 12 percent of India’s population, want the mosque to be reconstructed.