NEW DELHI, July 6: A court here ordered on Wednesday that former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani be tried for his alleged role in the 1992 demolition of a mosque that sparked deadly riots between the Muslims and the Hindus.

The order by the Allahabad high court in northern Uttar Pradesh state was made after two Muslims challenged a lower court’s 2003 acquittal of Mr Advani and others due to lack of evidence.

The Allahabad court said Advani, who is accused of encouraging thousands of Hindu fanatics to demolish the Babri mosque in the town of Ayodhya, and others must appear before a lower court on July 28.

The mosque was razed on December 6, 1992, sparking Muslim-Hindu riots in which nearly 2,000 people were killed.

Since then the entire complex has been under the authority of the Supreme Court and guarded by about 200 policemen and paramilitary personnel.

Security forces were on high alert on Wednesday after six armed gunmen were killed on Tuesday after they blasted their way into the complex, where a makeshift Hindu temple stands on the ruins of the mosque.

Mr Advani and other top Hindu nationalist leaders on Wednesday protested the attack on the streets of New Delhi and elsewhere.—AFP