December 6, 2002	Friday	Shawwal 1,1423

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LUCKNOW, Dec 5: Indian authorities tightened security in Thursday, the eve of the 10th anniversary of the destruction of the Babri mosque by Hindus that triggered bloody riots across the country.

Officials said they were taking no chances because Eid-ul-Fitr could coincide with the anniversary.

“In view of the recent terrorist attacks on temples in other parts of the country, we have stepped up security in and around the core area of the makeshift temple,” a senior official said.

“Entry to the temple will be strictly regulated.”

Hindu zealots tore down the 16th century Babri mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, on Dec 6, 1992, sparking riots in which more than 3,000 people were killed, including several hundred in Mumbai.

A makeshift temple now stands on the debris of the razed mosque, guarded by about 1,500 policemen around the clock.

Muslims in Ayodhya and Mumbai said they would not celebrate Eid publicly if it fell on Friday, when the hardline Hindu group Vishwa Hindu Parishad plans to hold a meeting of 1,000 sadhus, or holy men, in temple-studded Ayodhya.

“The Muslims of Ayodhya have decided to shun public festivities on Eid in case it coincides with Dec 6,” Mehboob Ahmed, a member of a body that has been campaigning for the rebuilding of the mosque, said.

“Muslims all over the state will observe Dec 6 as ‘black day’ and hold sit-in protests,” said Mohammad Faruque Azam, head of a social organization of Muslims in Mumbai.

“Anti-national fascists broke the mosque and we want to express our feelings in a peaceful way.”

Hardline Hindu groups, like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who believe Ayodhya to be the birthplace of Rama, are campaigning for the construction of a grand temple at the spot where the mosque stood.—Reuters