| GEO World | | Police official says Advani provoked for Babri demolition | Updated at: 1426 PST, Sunday, March 28, 2010
 RAE BARELI: L K Advani's attempt to distance himself from the Babri demoliton got a jolt on Friday, with Anju Gupta, senior IPS officer and an eyewitness of the destruction at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, accusing the BJP veteran of delivering a provocative speech to the throng of kar sevaks who eventually tore down the mosque.
The IPS officer also did not support Advani's claims that the demolition saddened him and that he had tried to restrain kar sevaks from bringing down the mosque.
Gupta's testimony in the special CBI court here trying the Babri accused is significant because she, as Advani's Personal Security Officer, was supposed to shadow him in Ayodhya and can claim to have seen and heard actions and utterances of the saffron stalwart on the eventful day.
The IPS officer said that Advani delivered a `bahut joshila' (highlyinflammatory) speech, adding that ``his address generated much excitement" in the crowd. The leader declared that Ram Mandir will be constructed on the same 2.77 acre land. "`Mandir wahin banega', Advani repeated the statement a number of times,'' she said.
Gupta had given a detailed account of actions of Advani and his colleagues to the court earlier also.
``The sight of the structure crashing down led to much euphoria among the dignatories present on the dais of the Ram Katha Manch. I saw sweets being distributed, people congratulating and embracing each other,'' Gupta said.
She continued, ``The Ram Katha Manch, actually a single-storied building 150-170 metres away from the disputed structure, was a beehive of activity. Among the people who flitted in and out, I could recognise apart from Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Vishnu Hari Dalmia, Vinay Katiyar, Uma Bharati, Sadhvi Rithambhara, Acharya Dharmendra Dev and Shrish Chand Dixit.''
According to the officer, it was she who told Advani that a crowd had broken in and was demolishing the structure, and that a number of people had fallen off the dome and were critically injured.
``Reports of kar sevaks being injured upset Advani. He demanded to be led to the site so that he could persuade kar sevaks to come down. Advised against this, Advani dropped the idea and deputed Uma Bharati instead,'' she said.
The officer also accused other leaders of BJP/VHP combine -- Vinay Katiyar, Uma Bharti, Sadhvi Rithambhara -- of making provocative speeches. |  |
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