Indian politician accused of 'provoking' mosque riot
The mosque's destruction was one of India's most bitterly contested events
An Indian police officer has claimed that a prominent politician made a provocative speech moments before the 1992 sacking of a mosque in Ayodhya.
The officer, Anju Gupta, said the speech was made by LK Advani, who at the time was a top leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Ms Gupta was assigned as a security officer to Mr Advani in 1992.
The mosque was brought down by a Hindu mob and some 2,000 people died in riots across India after its demolition.
It was some of the worst Hindu-Muslim violence since the partition of India in 1947.
'Creating discord'
Ms Gupta said that Mr Advani had declared in his speech that a Hindu temple would be built on the site.
Mr Advani has described the razing as the saddest day in his life
The former bodyguard told a special court in the town of Rae Bareli that Mr Advani had made his "provocative speech" to right-wing Hindus in Ayodhya on the day the mosque was attacked.
Ms Gupta was testifying as a prosecution witness in a case against Mr Advani - a former leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - who has been charged with "provoking people into rioting and arson" and "creating discord among communities".
Mr Advani - who has won plaudits for transforming the BJP into a viable political force - has denied involvement in the demolition, calling it "the saddest day" of his life.
In 2003 Mr Advani - who served as home minister and deputy prime minister under the BJP-led government between 1998 and 2004 - was cleared of being linked to the demolition.
The current case against him came about after a court in the state of Uttar Pradesh revived charges against him.
The hearing has been adjourned for four weeks.
In November 2009 an official report implicated more than 60 people - including the most senior members of the BJP - in the mosque's destruction.
The site of the 16th Century Babri Masjid had been a focus for Hindu-Muslim hostility for decades when on 6 December 1992 a mob of Hindu militants tore the mosque down, claiming that it had been a temple marking the birthplace of the Hindu God Ram.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8589659.stm
Indian politician accused of 'provoking' mosque riot
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