State, central forces step up vigil on ground, social media

NEW DELHI: As the Supreme Court ruled on Saturday in favour of a Ram temple coming up on the disputed 2.77 acre religious site in Ayodhya, tens of thousands of police

NEW DELHI: As the Supreme Court ruled on Saturday in favour of a Ram temple coming up on the disputed 2.77 acre religious site in Ayodhya, tens of thousands of police and paramilitary troopers fanned out all over the country to deter troublemakers and enforce the peace after the central home ministry sounded a high security alert .

HT Image

Home minister Amit Shah reviewed the security situation at a meeting attended by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, home secretary Ajit Bhalla and Intelligence Bureau director Arvind Kumar as Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, head of the five-judge Constitution bench, started reading out the judgement around 10.30 am.

At the meeting, the home minister was given a detailed briefing on the law and order situation across India, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, a home ministry official said. Shah also spoke to a few chief ministers to take stock of the situation in their states and asked them to make sure that the police and civilian administrators stay alert.

In Delhi, the police kept a high profile in the old quarters, enforced prohibitory orders banning the assembly of more than four people in the entire city and staged a flag march in the Jama Masjid area after reinforcing security at the residences of the five Supreme Court judges, and appealed to “every citizen to contribute to peace and tranquillity”.

“The Delhi Police will initiate strict legal action against mischief mongers or those found indulging in any activity which may adversely affect the peace and public order,” the Capital’s police said in a statement, adding that users of social media should exercise restraint and not spread “any disharmony, hatred or enmity”.

The dispute over the plot of land in Ayodhya has been seen as a potential flashpoint for communal trouble. The December 1992 destruction of a 16th century mosque that stood on the site, which Hindus believe marks the birthplace of the warrior-god Ram, sparked a cycle of violence and riots that claimed up to 2,000 lives.

Schools and colleges were shut in several states, some of which also ordered the closure of liquor outlets, amid calls by political leaders for public calm. Across states, an unspecified number of potential troublemakers were arrested in a preventive move by the police

By Friday night, Ayodhya itself had turned into a fortress, with 90 companies, or around 9,500 men, of armed police, including troopers from 37 UP Provincial Armed Constabulary companies, taking position in the holy city and its surroundings. Across Uttar Pradesh, the police has been conducting drills, flag marches and drone surveillance to prepare for any fallout from the Ayodhya judgment.

In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath visited the police’s 112 control room, where an emergency operational centre has been set up to keep a watch on the situation across the state, and monitor posts on social media and calls made by ordinary citizens. Officers of central paramilitary forces , including the Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force and Railway Protection Force, took part in a meeting presided over by Adityanath, who also spoke to district magistrate of Ayodhya, Anuj Jha, on the situation in the holy town.

It was crucial for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to maintain the peace in the aftermath of the judgment , one analyst told Bloomberg. “It could be a test of India’s ability to clamp down on violence and not allow this to spiral out of control. It would reflect negatively on Modi if empowered citizens used this as an excuse to enact violent measures,” Akhil Bery, South Asia analyst at risk consultancy Eurasia Group, was quoted as saying.

The tough measures put in place to deal with any outbreak of trouble seemed to have worked .No violence had been reported as of Saturday night.

In the newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the administration imposed orders banning the assembly of more than four people, closed educational institutions and cancelled examinations.

Liquor vends were shut in the Jammu region. A protective curfew was imposed in Kishtwar town, deputy magistrate Angrez Singh Rana said, adding that “the situation is absolutely normal”.

In Rajasthan, Internet services were suspended to prevent rumours from doing the rounds on social media in addition to educational institutions being closed.

In Mumbai, prohibitory orders were enforced from 11am Saturday until 11am Sunday and the police were monitoring 5,000 closed circuit television cameras, including those at religious places and sensitive installations . The police “mobilised additional security forces in highly communally sensitive pockets of the city,” deputy commissioner of police (operations) Pranay Ashok said.“We have put our 40,000-plus strong force on security bandobast.”

In Bengaluru, Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was enforced from 7 am to 12 midnight, banning more than four people from gathering in public, and all liquor stores ordered shut and social media sites were under the police scanner. “Strict action will be take against anybody trying to disturb peace and communal harmony,” Bengaluru police comissioner Bhaskar Rao said.

In Kolkata, all police stations were in a state of high alert. The West Bengal government asked police personnel to be cautious in how they deal with the situation because the day coincided with Milad-un-Nabi, marking the birthday of prophet Mohammad, a senior official told PTI.

Several state chief ministers, including Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, Madhya Pradesh’s Kamal Nath and Bihar’s Niteesh Kumar, called for public calm and warned of tough action against troublemakers reinforcing the security measures already in place.

Vijayan said on Saturday that the decades-old Ayodhya case had caused enough unrest and it was time for the people to accept the court verdict gracefully. “The SC verdict is final and all should respond to it positively. Nothing should happen that will vitiate the communal fabric of the state. The state has been always a model to other states on such issues and we will maintain it,” he said.