Witness tells court BJP leaders raised provocative slogans

Rae Bareli, Jan 25 (PTI) Deposing before a SpecialCBI court here, hearing the Babri mosque demolition case, awitness today said senior BJP leaders, including L K Advani,delivered provocative speeches before the shrine was razed.

Haji Mehboob Ahmad, CBI''s 10th witness, told the courtthat Advani, Vinay Katiyar, Uma Bharti, Paramhans Ram ChandraDas and Sadhvi Ritambhara, all BJP leaders, gave provocativespeeches near the disputed site on December six, 1992.

Testifying before Chief Juicial Magistrate VishnuPrasad Agarwal, he said when demolition of the mosque started,he called the Prime Minister''s Office and later sent telegramsto the PMO and the Supreme Court.

Ahmad said at around 10 A M on December six, acavalcade passed in front of his house, located a few yardsaway from the mosque,

He said he and his friends sitting in verandah of thehouse clearly saw Advani in the cavalcade.

The witness said when the cavalcade reached the Babrimosque, people vociferously raised slogans in favour of razingthe structure.

Ahmad said this sparked panic among members of theMuslim community and he locked his house in which some 150 to200 people were present.

He said he then went to the terrace where he saw peoplescaling the walls of the mosque.

Ahmad told the court he called up the PMO and even senttelegrams to the Prime Minister''s Office and the SC later.

If required by the court, he could submit photocopiesof the telegrams, he said in his deposition.

"I called up the PMO and requested an official that Iwant to talk to the Prime Minister who said the PM is verybusy," Ahmad told the court.

He said between 4 pm and 5 pm the structure wascompletely razed to the ground.

Arson also took place at nearby houses in which 16people were killed, he told the court.

Ahmad''s deposition will continue on February 21, thenext date of hearing in the case.

On December four last year, the Special Court clearedthe way for examination of witnesses in the demolition case.

It dismissed a petition filed by senior BJP leaderMurli Manohar Joshi, VHP leader Ashok Singhal and otherschallenging the authority of the CBI to be the prosecutingagency in the case.