Ayodhya demolition case hearing today

Rae Bareli, Aug 17: A special court will hear the Babri mosque demolition case here today.

Special Judge Vansh Raj Singh had deferred the matter on August 4, after counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sought adjournment of the proceedings, stating that the witnesses who were to give their testimony in the court, had not turned up.

Besides Advani and Joshi, Bharatiya Janshakti Party leader Uma Bharti, BJP General Secretary Vinay Katiyar, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ashok Singhal, Acharya Giriraj Kishore and Vishnu Hari Dalmiya, and Sadhvi Ritambhara have been named as accused in the case.

Advani is among those accused of inciting communal passions through inflammatory statements.

In September 2003, a Rae Bareli court had quashed charges against Advani while deciding to proceed against the other seven persons.

The demolition of the 16th century mosque in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, triggered a nationwide communal frenzy.

ANI

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