Security arrangements in Ayodhya and many adjoining districts have been intensified ahead of the crucial Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya dispute case which is expected before November 17. The MHA has sent a general advisory to all states and UTs to remain alert and vigilant ahead of the soon expected Ayodhya case.
Ministry of Home Affairs Sources: MHA sends general advisory to all states and union territories to remain alert and vigilant ahead of the probable verdict in Ayodhya case. pic.twitter.com/2VkrWwJGEb
— ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2019
Citing intelligence inputs on terror threat, the Ministry has also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure maximum deployment of the police force on the ground and keep tabs on rumours on social networking sites and through SMS.
Apart from Ayodhya, the circular cautioned the Uttar Pradesh government to keep a close eye on other highly sensitive areas in the state and deploy its police force at specific locations, following apprehensions that “anti-social elements” may provoke religious sentiments of the people.
Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is making all possible arrangements to tackle any chaos or untoward incident that can ensue following the judgement on the highly volatile issue. Since the issue directly involves matters of faith and is expected to spark communal tension, the State, as well as the Central government, are making sure that there remains no lapse in the security arrangements.
To ensure law and order remains in control, the Ayodhya district administration has set up eight temporary jails in different schools in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Naga.
The jails have been set up in schools in Akbarpur, Tanda, Jalalpur, Jaitpur, Bhiti, and Allapur. The principal and staff of these schools would require to provide basic amenities to the station in-charges.
Asserting that the verdict shouldn’t be viewed from the prism of victory and defeat, even PM Modi has in a meeting with the council of ministers issued a directive today asking his ministers to refrain from making any unnecessary remarks on it. BJP also told its MPs to visit their constituencies for maintaining calm.
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The Centre has also given the order to deploy 40 companies comprising of around 4,000 personnel of paramilitary force in Ayodhya, including sixteen companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), around six companies each of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security (CISF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and RAF. A total of 13 CRPF companies have already been sent to Ayodhya and others would be sent in two-three days.
Ayodhya Police had earlier issued notification calling out the rumour-mongers and cautioning them that strict action will be taken against those who will be found inciting unrest through sharing fake news, communally sensitive videos/messages on Facebook, Whatsapp and other social media platforms. The UP Police has assured that they are completely and absolutely ready for the verdict.
The district magistrate had instructed people to not make any defamatory comments against any religion, community, deities, eminent personalities on social media platforms. People have also been prohibited from organising any event regarding the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute. Section 144 has been imposed in Ayodhya till December 28. Those violating the orders will be booked under Section 188 (disobedience of an order promulgated by public servant) of the IPC.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Ayodhya, Ashish Tiwari has said: “Elaborate deployment of forces, intelligence network and confidence-building measures are in place. We have launched a mobile application connecting 16,000 volunteers in 1,600 villages, 10 volunteers each. We are also actively combating rumours on social media.”
A five-judge Supreme Court bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi heard the Ayodhya case on a day-to-day basis for 40 days and reserved its verdict on October 16. The court is expected to deliver its verdict on a dispute over the possession of 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya district in Uttar Pradesh before November 17, when CJI Gogoi retires.
