The CBI is preparing to produce Priyamvada Nath Shukla, the then SHO of Ayodhya who had lodged FIR in connection with the demolition of the mosque at Ram Janmabhoomi police station, as a witness before the Rae Bareli court too. Recently, Mr Shukla’s statement was recorded before the Special Court (Ayodhya issue) in Lucknow also.
As and when his deposition takes place, Mr Shukla will be the first CBI witness to depose before the Rae Bareli court as well as the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court. Mr Shukla is likely to be 11th CBI witness to depose before the Rai Bareli court.
Sources in the CBI said that the agency wants to complete the trial in the Babri Masjid demolition case in the wake of the fact that the judgement in the Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit has already been reserved by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court. “The agency does not want to linger the trial by producing more witnesses before the Rae Bareli court as statements of 10 witnesses have already been recorded,” sources said.
Sources further added that a maximum of four more witnesses of CBI are expected to depose before the trial court in Rae Bareli for speedy completion of the trial related to the demolition of the disputed structure.
Following the demolition of Babri masjid, two FIRs were registered under FIR No. 197/1992 and 198/1992 at police station Ayodhya in Faizabad. While the trial related to FIR No. 197/1992 is being heard by a special court in Lucknow, the Rae Bareli court is hearing the case related to FIR no. 198/1992.
However, prior to deposition of Mr Shukla, the CBI is reportedly preparing for the deposition of Haji Mehboob Ahmad before the Rae Bareli court as the 10th witness in the Babri masjid demolition case.
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‘Make law to construct Ram Temple’
LALIT SHASTRI
Bhopal
When the court verdict on the Ayodhya issue is awaited, former RSS spokesman Ram Madhav has said that the Congress led UPA government should make a law for the construction of Ram Temple.
Mr Madhav made this assertion after addressing a seminar on “Politics of Terrorism and Media” in the state capital o n Wednesday evening.
He cited the Shahbano case to drive home his point and put the ball in the UPA government’s court on the vexed Ayodhya issue. He said that the Government of India has taken its own stand in the case of Ajmal Kasab, convicted for death for the 26/11 Mumbai attack and Afzal Guru, who faces the death sentence for the attack on Parliament.