A special court, trying a case on the demolition of the Babri Masjid, called its first witness on Wednesday, exactly 15 years after the structure was pulled down.
The court in Rae Bareli recorded the statement of one Hanuman Prasad, who was then posted as a constable clerk in the Ramjanam Bhoomi outpost. Prasad told the court that he had registered the FIR, number 198/92, on the incidents that day. Prasad, who is now a sub-inspector, travelled from his present posting at Hardoi to record his statement before special magistrate Bans Raj.
CBI counsel K P Singh said there are about 100 witnesses in this case. The next witness has been summoned on December 13. Singh refused to disclose the names of the witnesses. The CBI lawyer said the FIR was written by Ganga Prasad Tewari, but Hanuman Prasad registered it. “He appeared before the magistrate and his statement was recorded,” Singh added.
The CBI, which had investigated the case, has filed chargesheets against eight people in this case, including BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi and Vinay Katiyar, VHP leaders Vishnu Hari Dalmia, Giriraj Kishore and Ashok Singhal, Bharatiya Janshakti Party leader Uma Bharati and Sadhvi Ritambhara.
Babri Mosque Action Committee convenor Zafar Yad Jilani welcomed the development. “We can now hope there will be no further delay in meting out justice. The case can be concluded in a year,” Jilani said. He said there were two different cases lodged with the police in connection with the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
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